Mikatekiso Kubayi’s Post

In connection with the BRICS summit, I had to hold many conversations with foreign journalists and experts, exchange views on economics, politics, and trade.. And that's what I'm thinking (out loud) : This young, but already promising world structure consisting of a colossal number of ethnic groups, the most ancient history, the richest civilizational heritage and different views on literally everything ... Form an incredibly powerful engine of a new civilizational era. The rapprochement of peoples into a "new union" with the common idea of equal, just and safe development of mankind exclusively within the framework of this new worldview association is already shaping the direction of development of states and peoples towards creation in the fundamental directions of our future. In the future, the formation of a new measuring measure of money. Measures that allow not only to trade freely, make calculations, but also to really fairly evaluate assets. I observe the birth of new concepts of the world order, geopolitical ideas aimed at the creative direction of uniting subjects not by absorption, but by union. I am sincerely glad that in the foreseeable future people will be able to taste the fruits of the process and get the desired well-being.

In the following panel, Mikatekiso Kubayi unpacks the dynamics of a changing geopolitical order, including the recent BRICS Summit and the role of BRICS countries in shaping the evolving global financial architecture. #BRICS #BRICS2024 #BRICSSummit2024 #Geopolitics #GlobalGovernance #InternationalDiplomacy https://lnkd.in/dbqQik8q

A good read. When it comes to proxy wars -- it is always going to be perception based as to who the real proxy is. I think Angola always stands as the place to look at proxy war -- and how the swirl of combat and civil war and revolution and counter insurgency all blended together. "Causal realists work to align practice and empirical evidence to enhance existing theories of proxy and create new theories where extant concepts don’t exist or are no longer useful. Scholars approaching the subject from an idealized mindset do not operate in empirical causality, but instead use whimsical idealizations about personal and group connections to discuss the subject." https://lnkd.in/eFcVFWAe

Can BRICS really create, as some analysts suggest, an alternative to the Western-led international order and the dominance of the U.S. dollar? The essays below offer a primer on the bloc at this pivotal moment in its development and contextualize some of the debates on its potential to disrupt the global balance of power.

Big congratulations to our portfolio company EUI on their public offering! At last month’s Darwin Forum, EUI cofounder and CEO Melvin nostaltically recalled: "Early 2020 was a challenging time for us, and we are very grateful to Darwin for believing in us and investing at that critical juncture." Fast forward to today, June 13, 2024, and EUI (Eastern Union Interactive) has debuted on the Emerging Stock Market as a fintech rising star, receiving an enthusiastic response from capital markets. The stock price surged from the listing reference price of NT$153 per share to over NT$250. Investors’ confidence in EUI is evident in their impressive 2023 performance metrics: - Total annual transaction volume nearing NT$30 billion ($1 billion USD) - Over 3 million annual transactions (a 98% year-over-year increase) - 15% market share of active users who transact at least once per month - Annual revenue of NT$338 million (a 110% year-over-year increase) - Post-tax net profit of NT$60.43 million (a 300% year-over-year increase) Our Managing Partner Kay Lin said: "When we first met them in 2019, they were effectively starting from zero. Years of efforts brought them to a billion US dollars in transaction volume and a public offering. But it's actually another starting point. How do you go from here to being an international platform, offering innovative financial services, and extending your global influence? We can't wait find out." Interestingly, Melvin began his forum speech by challenging the company’s identity: "Are we fintech or tech-fin?" (tech-fin = a financial company at heart, but using technology) We’ve embedded Melvin's speech video here for you to watch, but here’s the conclusion: EUI views itself as a "tech-fin" company—technology is its core capability, but the company's very essence is financial services. They have seamlessly integrated advanced technology to significantly enhance the satisfaction and efficiency of financial services. EUI’s mission of infusing technology into financial services encompasses three main areas: 1. To achieve compliance with technology 2. To infuse its systems with intelligence 3. To take its platform international In terms of regulatory compliance, EUI focuses on standardization, technological integration, and real-time supervisory risk control to provide immediate services to users while achieving the economic efficiency expected of a tech company. During his speech, Melvin illustrated this with an example: a user deposits cash at a convenience store, and within minutes, the funds are available in an overseas account, completing the transaction. This rapid process showcases the high intelligence of EUI’s technology platform, which must execute all compliance and anti-money laundering steps in such a short time frame!  EUI will develop new tech-driven financial services to meet the vast market demand. But, they will never forget the essence of what they do.

https://lnkd.in/dWRRyUph There is a growing contention in academia that the alleged decline of the US-led hegemony parallels the ascendance of BRICS countries on the international stage (see inter alia Stuenkel 2015; Kiely 2015; Cooley and Nexon 2020). Against this backdrop, the debate over the ‘decline of the West’ and the ‘rise of the rest’ seems to have polarized international relations scholars into two broad camps. While some critical scholars (Bond 2015; Fontes 2015; Kiely 2015) see the very success of BRICS as being deeply entwined with the prevailing US-led capitalist order, others (Van der Pijl 2006; Bello 2014; Desai 2013; Stuenkel 2015) who embrace a more enthusiastic stance celebrate the rise of the BRICS as a possible challenge and alternative to the US-led and Western-dominated global order, as they seek to have more power and influence in global governance, with demands for the established powers to alter rules and standards accordingly. Indeed, given their rapidly growing economies, BRICS nations are expected to play an increasingly prominent role in today’s world, challenging a position traditionally held by the US and its Western allies. Nevertheless, while the increased economic, political, military, and even cultural presence of the BRICS countries on the world stage is widely acknowledged, whether these rising powers of the Global South constitute a counter-hegemonic alternative to four centuries of Western dominance is still highly debatable. In this regard, this study evaluates BRICS’s role as a counter-hegemonic alternative to the longstanding US-led Western dominance in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. As an area of great power competition and a microcosm of the world order’s transformation, the MENA region presents a perfect testing ground for assessing Western hegemonic decline and its contestation by BRICS countries and regional leaders such as Iran, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and the Gulf Monarchies. Briefly stated, in the context of US decline and its relative retrenchment from the Middle East since the mid-2000s, BRICS countries and other regional leaders have engaged in a “competitive game” to occupy more dominant position in regional issues, striving to move regional dynamics towards a more balanced configuration pursuant to their interests.

It was an insightful discussion about the geoeconomic fragmentation in Astana.

Expanded BRICS can reshape the global economic order Ravindran AM — September 3, 2023 The expanded BRICS can address global imbalances through unity and cooperation to shape a more equitable world. South Africa joined the four emerging economies — Brazil, Russia, India, and China — in 2010 to create BRICS. This coalition seeks to address the inequities of the global order and institutional governance. Goldman Sachs economist Jim O’Neil mooted the idea of the grouping in a paper titled “Building a Better Global Economic BRIC” in 2001. In 2003, Goldman Sachs predicted that these emerging economies’ combined strength would significantly alter the global economy, surpassing the Western-dominated order before 2039. According to Bloomberg’s economic estimates, an expanded BRICS group would represent approximately half of the global output by 2040. BRICS is more globally represented than the UN Security Council and the G7, but less so than the G20, which is Western-dominated. This highlights the importance of BRICS in the world economy. The governments of BRICS countries have been meeting annually to address regional and multilateral issues through formal summits and to devise measures to confront challenges in the global economy and governance. The geopolitical influence of BRICS can be measured by its share of global GDP, which has increased from 8% in 2001 to 26%. In contrast, the G7’s share of global GDP has decreased from 65% to 43.7% during the same period, with their share of the global population at around 10%. READ I BRICS currency faces challenges, but potential benefits are huge The 15th BRICS summit, held this week, underscored the organisation’s relevance and potential, as evidenced by a surge in aspiring countries seeking membership. Out of 22 countries formally applying for membership, six new members were inducted: Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, UAE from the West Asian region, Ethiopia from Africa, and Argentina from South America. With the inclusion of the six new members, the global share of BRICS+6 countries would further rise to 46.3% of global population, 36.9% of GDP in PPP terms, 24.1% of exports, and 39.4% of global trade in crude oil. Throughout its development, BRICS prioritised ideas over ideologies and remained open and transparent. During the Russia-Ukraine conflict and consequent sanctions, BRICS partners consistently supported Russia’s economic and diplomatic survival. (The author is an economist based in Kochi. He was the head of the Department of Economics, Central University of Kerala, Kasaragod.) To receive the best of Policy Circle in your inbox, Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. Ravindran AM posts Ravindran AM is an economist based in Kochi. He was the head of the Department of Economics at the Central University of Kerala. He has also served as an Associate Professor, the Directorate of Higher Education, Puducherry.

"Ghosts in the Machine: Technology and Imperialism in Maritime Asia" UC Berkeley's Institute of East Asian Studies will host a talk by John Stambaugh Professor Eric Tagliacozzo on March 1st from 4 - 5 PM PST. This talk will focus on the interplay of three historical moments of technological advancement in maritime Asia. Register below!

Signals from BRICS summit 2023<https://www.nextpak.org/> The 15th BRICS summit, held in Johannesburg, marked the first in-person gathering since 2019 and garnered significant global interest. Leaders unanimously expressed their commitment to fostering a multipolar world order based on international law and compliance, which would contribute to a more humane global society. They also advocated for the rapid expansion of BRICS to enhance global governance equity. Proposed measures include deepening economic cooperation among member countries through trade agreements, particularly by using national currencies.