Nevertheless the Western-led order is certainly not yet at its end
TELEGRAPH VIEW 25 August 2023 •
On the same day that a jet reportedly carrying Wagner warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin was blown out of the skies above Russia, Vladimir Putin was preening over a Brics summit he will undoubtedly see as a diplomatic coup.
The five-country bloc has voted to admit Saudi Arabia and several other countries in an attempt to increase its influence. The argument goes that the new alignment will have sufficient weight to present an alternative power base to the American-dominated Western alliance.
If this is so, then Joe Biden’s administration will have to take much of the blame. His handling of relations with Riyadh has resulted in considerable tensions, and it is on his watch that Saudi Arabia has resumed diplomatic relations with Iran in a deal brokered by Beijing. That Riyadh will now be joining the expanded Brics alongside Tehran is a further marker of Mr Biden’s diplomatic blunders.
Nor is Saudi Arabia the only Western ally tempted to deepen relations with Beijing and Moscow. The United Arab Emirates and Egypt are also set to join the bloc in a move which is unlikely to be welcomed by Washington.
But it is also important to avoid getting ahead of ourselves in announcing the end of the Western-led order. Putin addressed the summit by video link as he faces an arrest warrant for war crimes; even his friends in South Africa found the prospect of his presence a step too far.
The past year has proved bruising for autocracies. Russia’s military is, if not a paper tiger, certainly not on par with those of Nato, while its gas blackmail has failed. Iran faces internal turmoil, and China a brewing financial crisis. The Brics, for all the hype, are no alternative to the West yet.
Just look at that pic: an assholes’ convention if ever I saw one.
Evil, morally bankrupt scum, soon to be augmented by more of the same.
The absolute scum of the earth.
So what? BRICS is an acronym. No more, no less. https://marcusson.substack.com/p/brics-is-an-acronym
I strongly doubt this assessment.
What should we do then? Appease Saudi-Arabia while they are among the world champions of human rights violations?
I don’t think there is anything the Biden administration can do to prevent this.
Eventually they will come back: the Chinese nor the Russians have the military equipment they need, nor the capital, technology and purchasing power the West has and also they don’t have luxury goods for the elite.
They will find out sooner or later.
I would say, let them go and if they start being annoying cut access to the things they want from the West.
But don’t try to be Saudi-Arabia’s ally at all costs. They depend much more on the West than the other way around, and this dependency will even grow when the energy transition accelerates, as all they do is sell oil.
Sounds to me Bert that you could be one of those that felt that when OPEC was formed, that org wouldn’t be a threat either. Anytime you have what Sir Scradgel described as an “asshole convention” one needs to take note and if one had a competent President of the US, do something strange…strategize, not ignore. Unfortunately the current crop of idiots in the White House wouldn’t know strategy if it came up and hit them upside their head. Instead they’ll start pontificating their woke bullshit or DEI. That’ll get the asshole convention participants engaged…not!
OPEC was a much different kettle of fish. They had the potential of being a pain in the neck, and they did so in the early 70s.
Sir OhEngineer I only express caution. OPEC was formed in 1960 and it took -4 years for them to develop enough power to screw the world. Do you really want to give these clowns 14 years to figure out how to screw us or is it better for us to deal with it now.
BRICS will not ever amount to much. Peter Zeihan explains why.
I wouldn’t take anything for granted.
BRICS is for Communists and Socialists, like Putler.
Who ever thought of forming a bloc that can’t even feed themselves? Looks more like a circus to me.
BRICS is already an ineffective gang in its current for, it will be even more so with a few more assholes in it.