SvennoJ said:
Bofferbrauer2 said:
The way this world is going it's looking increasingly likely to me that the world will get divided into Blocks again, and it looks like there will be 3: The EU and their partners, the US and those who stayed loyal to the MAGA, and then the BRICS+ - though I expect some countries like Brazil or South Africa to be in 2 out of 3 blocks. |
There is also still the African Union (55 member states that make up the countries of the African Continent). South Africa is already in multiple Blocks, and seem more likely the AU will join BRICS. So yeah BRICS+.
"While South Africa is currently the only African member of BRICS, the bloc has expanded to include Egypt and Ethiopia as full members, and several other African nations participate as partner countries. The BRICS countries also engage with the African Union on various issues and initiatives"
Unlike UNASUR which is not open to join BRICS, but some of its members have joined. EU-MERCOSUR trade deal is also there, so EU could deepen ties with South America.
ASEAN is more open to join BRICS and several of it's 10 members already have. https://eastasiaforum.org/2025/02/22/asean-members-balance-with-brics-as-the-world-shifts/
BRICS is going to be much bigger than a divided US / EU, US will get more and more isolated, and thus more and more dangerous with their military. EU would do well to further strengthen ties with South America, Africa and Asia.
https://brics-plus-analytics.org/regionalism-in-2024-new-platforms-to-emerge/
Anyway it does look like we're at a cross-roads in geopolitics. Balance is shifting, has been shifting, Trump is accelerating the process by destroying US EU relationships as well as destroying US' soft power. While remaining dogmatically focused on keeping power in the ME through Israel, US is quickly losing the rest of the world. |
Yeah, there are quite a few blocks like Mercosur, the African Union or ASEAN that could potentially turn into a military alliance if needed, just like what happened to the Entente in 1914 (before it was a treaty to govern and handle colonial disputes between France and the UK).
The EU is strengthening it's ties with South America and also ASEAN. Africa is much more difficult, as many still hold a strong grudge against European nations for their colonial history, which is also one of the main, if not THE main reason for them to go with Russia and China instead, not knowing of their respective colonial history (All of Siberia plus Alaska and some former Chinese territories for Russia and Tibet, Sinkiang, Guangdong plus much of Indochina and Korea for China), naively believing that they won't take advantage of them or less so than Europeans.
The problem for BRICS+ is that with their size also come increasingly different opinions, which could easily lead to infighting if not tackled early on. This should be especially true if China and India get into conflict - who would they support then?