The BRIC, or Brazil, Russia, India and China, platform was initiated by Russia in 2009 as an informal club to provide members with a conduit for challenging the world order dominated by the U.S. and its Western allies. South Africa joined in 2010, making them BRICS.
While analysts say Turkey’s membership bid is more about playing both sides than challenging its Western allies, some also voice concerns that Ankara is moving away from the West.
“Turkey’s BRICS bid is one more example of the country’s drift away from the Transatlantic community,” Asli Aydintasbas, visiting fellow at the Brookings Institution’s Center on the United States and Europe, told VOA Mandarin.
Turkey’s formal application last week for membership in the BRICS bloc of emerging economies confirmed speculation of the plan after the Kremlin in June welcomed “Turkey’s interest in the work of BRICS” and promised to support Ankara’s aspirations to join it.
Ankara’s move marks the first time a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and a candidate to join the European Union has applied to join a group dominated by Russia and China.
NATO is a political and military alliance of 32 countries created by the U.S. for collective security against the former Soviet Union. The body also serves as a medium for member-state consultation, cooperation, dispute resolution and crisis management.
BRICS aims to challenge the political and economic dominance of mainly Western, developed nations. Critics say it struggles to accomplish much and is uniting authoritarian and corrupt governments that seek to silence opposition.
