GPPi fellow publishes article on Brazil-India alliance

GPPi fellow Oliver Stuenkel has written an article for The Times of India, arguing that a strong alliance with Brazil could be highly beneficial for India. The Indian government must therefore use the transition of power in Brazil as an opportunity to strengthen ties with Brazil’s new leader and forge a lasting alliance.

Stuenkel writes that Brazil and India can engage meaningfully in three areas: the defense of democratic institutions and human rights in the developing world, the quest for economic development and the reform of global governance. Close ties would be mutually beneficial and help Brazil and India address these challenges.

Regarding the first area, Brazil and India are the two principal emerging powers whose citizens enjoy a human rights-abiding liberal democratic system. Both countries have been able to maintain such institutions and rights despite highly diverse populations, a lack of social inclusion and high rates of poverty. In a world where an increasing number of national leaders look to China as an economic and political model to copy, India and Brazil provide powerful counter-examples that political freedom is no obstacle to economic growth. Both countries must make use of their legitimacy more frequently, for example, by jointly calling on Zimbabwe’s dictator Robert Mugabe to respect the unity government with Morgan Tsvangirai.

Secondly, argues Stuenkel, India and Brazil share similar challenges in their respective projects to promote economic growth and lift millions of citizens out of poverty. Each country has a great amount of experience and can provide useful advice to the other side. IBSA has been a step in the right direction to institutionalize such knowledge-sharing, but more can be done. Brazil’s knowledge in agriculture is sorely needed in India, while India can provide software expertise to Brazil. Other areas where the two can collaborate meaningfully is the combat against HIV/​AIDS, cash-transfer programs to combat poverty and ways to foster social mobility and women’s rights. More platforms need to be created for both countries’ civil societies to engage more frequently.

Finally, Stuenkel writes that Brazil and India need to continue to forge a strong partnership in their quest to reform global governance and assure that today’s international institutions adequately reflect the recent changes in the distribution of power. While progress with the World Bank and the IMF has been slow, Brazil and India have immensely benefited from coordinating their efforts. Any renewed attempt to enter the UN Security Council as permanent members should occur in unison and after careful joint deliberation.

Even if it will take time to implement the strategies named above, the potential mutual benefits of stronger ties between Brazil and India are too large to ignore.