The rise of the Global South and its impact on foreign policy dynamics

The BRICS Summit which was set up more than 10 years ago as an informal group of states comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to promote cooperation and collaboration amongst member countries in various areas, including economics, finance, trade and geo-politics, took place in Johannesburg, South Africa this year.  

The main headline from this year’s BRICS Summit was that the 5-member bloc will expand by looking to add 6 new countries who are set to join in January 2024 comprised of Argentina, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE for the first time since South Africa’s admission in 2010. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping described the expansion as “historic”, and that the growth of BRICS will “further strengthen the force for world peace and development.” One of the core remits of the summit was to increase its membership and global influence on a stage currently dominated by the US and its allies. 

This online event will discuss the expansion of the BRICS bloc, the rise of the Global South and its impact on foreign policy dynamics in the international rules-based order where it is conventionally deemed that the US and its strategic allies have had the monopoly. 

Moderator

Kaleem Hussain

Kaleem Hussain is a multi-disciplinary change management consultant, geo-political observer and analyst with a research interest in conflict transformation, peace and reconciliation initiatives at a national and international level. He is a RANE Network Affiliate Expert with a focus on critical risk analysis and insights, a Fellow at the University of Birmingham, and Better Climate Governance focusing on mechanisms to support the world meet the Paris Agreement Goal. Kaleem completed the Euphrates Peace Practice Alliance program in 2023 affiliated with the University for Peace at the United Nations and is the author of a recently published book titled Peace and Reconciliation in International and Islamic Law (2023).

Panellists

Anjana Dayal De Prewitt

Anjana Dayal de Prewitt is a humanitarian psychologist whose worldview is based on a multi-cultural family background that includes Muslims, Hindus, Sikhs, and Christians. Her theology is based on the Christian question of “who is thy neighbour”, and in responding to that question she has worked with women in diverse communities in India in an attempt to develop the power within to serve that neighbour. She is a practitioner scholar who has dedicated most of her professional life in the areas of psychosocial support and protection issues of women and children in disaster and conflict affected areas in her native India, as well as Maldives, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Indonesia, Uganda, and Puerto Rico. Currently, she is working as the with the American Red Cross as the Special Representative to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands.

Akram Raza

Akram Raza is an accomplished Assistant Professor at Delhi University, India, specialising in democratic processes, sustainable development in developing countries, conflict-prone regions in the MENA region, post-conflict scenarios, and the implications of realism on world politics. With a keen interest in international relations, Akram is an active member of the British International Studies Association (BISA) and frequently participates in conferences to contribute to the discourse in his field. 

Dr Malik Hammad Ahmad

Dr Malik Hammad Ahmad was born and raised in Multan-Pakistan. He has currently been working as a Technical Expert (Human Rights) in National Assembly standing Committee on Human Rights, and Assistant Professor AIOU Islamabad, Pakistan. He has almost 18 years of professional experience focused on Human Rights, Peace Education, and Good Governance in the Government of Pakistan, and the development sector (ActionAid International-Pakistan, & ILEWASI-Spain). He has completed his PhD in History of Peace and Nonviolence from the University of Warwick, UK; MPhil in Peace, Conflict, and Development Studies (University of Jaume-I, Spain, European Peace University, Austria), & MSc History (Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad-Pakistan).