Voting cohesion of the BRICS countries in the UN General Assembly: analysis and possible implications for EU foreign policy

In April 2011 the leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa launched a BRICS Action Plan, suggesting a further intensification and institutionalisation of their cooperation in the field of foreign policy, including within the framework of the United Nations (UN). Coordination between the BRICS countries is relevant for the position of the EU in international affairs, as the EU is in the process of developing ‘strategic partnerships’ with each of these countries. The objective of this paper is to analyse in detail the voting cohesion among the BRICS countries and other configurations of BRICS countries (such as IBSA) in the Main Committees of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in the period 2006--‐2011. It focuses on the question to what extent the intensification of BRICS cooperation in the field of foreign policy is reflected in their voting patterns in the UNGA as well as on the possible implications for EU foreign policy. Additionally the degree of voting cohesion among the BRICS and other configurations of emerging powers will be ranked and possible implications of these findings for the EU’s foreign policy will be analysed.status: publishe