22 Chapter Two
right noises at the summit, but each country will have to make its own
calculations as how far they can defy the United States.^10Within a coalition, states pool power and resources in a bargaining
alliance to win negotiations or to gain leverage over other parties outside
their coalition.^11 Theoretically it does not matter if the members of these
“deliberately constructed” networks share similar values, principles or
goals as long as they agree on “general or limited common objectives.”^12
In reality, not all coalitions work. Studies show that a coalition’s longevity
and impact “depend both on the elasticity of its internal hierarchy and
ideology and on its collective ability to amass ‘critical’ weight.”^13 To
succeed, coalitions must...
[c]apitalize on their members’ diversity and play off individual weakness
and strengths to direct, deviate or derail negotiations. To survive, coalition
members must be flexible enough to minimize intra-coalition frictions and
to react to potentially destabilizing counterstrategies.^14It is clear that BRICS, as a functional coalition, has some way to go
before it can start functioning as a counterbalance to more historically
established alliances.
The BRICS Countries
Brazil
Brazil has one of the most advanced industrial sectors in Latin America.
The country’s diverse industries, which include developed automobiles
and parts for machinery, textiles, cement, computers, aircraft and
consumer goods, account for approximately one-third of its GDP. The
country has a wide and sophisticated service industry which includes
banking, telecommunications, energy, commerce, and computing sectors.
Adding to this, Brazil is a major supplier of commodities and natural
(^10) IIyashenko and Sedov, “BRICS Anticipates New Challenges.”
(^11) Hampson, Multilateral Negotiations: Lessons from Arms Control, Trade, and
the Environment.
(^12) Dupont (1996), pp. 47-64.
(^13) Narlikar, International Trade and Developing Countries: Bargaining Coalitions
in the GATT and WTO.
(^14) Brutsch and Papa, “Deconstructing the BRICs: Bargaining Coalition, Imagined
Community or Geopolitical Fad?”