Rebuilding the R2P with BRICS Countries: A Normative Perspective

81
DOI: 10.20542/0131-2227-2024-68-4-5-15
EDN: WZVDPB
A. Crowley-Vigneau, vigneau.a@my.mgimo.ru
Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO University), 76, Vernadskogo Prosp., Moscow, 119454, Russian Federation;
Henley Business School, University of Reading, Reading, RG9 3AU, United Kingdom.
Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO University), 76, Vernadskogo Prosp., Moscow, 119454, Russian Federation.
Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO University), 76, Vernadskogo Prosp., Moscow, 119454, Russian Federation.
China Institute of Boundary and Ocean Studies, Wuhan University, 299, Bai Str., Wuhan, Hubei Province, 430072, People’s Republic of China.

Received 11.10.2023. Revised 03.11.2023. Accepted 24.01.2024.

Abstract. At a time when the “Responsibility to Protect” (R2P) concept continues to be an object of widespread controversy, particularly with BRICS countries openly condemning the way it has been implemented by Western states, the question of the future evolution of the norm remains uncertain. While the constructivist literature initially pointed to the consolidation of the norm which was widely accepted by heads of states during the 2005 World Summit, the application has been criticized by Third World Approaches to International Law (TWAIL) for being Western-led and biased, oriented toward regime-change and reminding the world of a new type of colonial enterprise. BRICS members embraced this perspective, and condemned in unison the Libyan intervention for going beyond the scope of its mandate and occasioning greater harm than it prevented. The authors of this article analyse BRICS perspectives on the “Responsibility to Protect” and seek to understand whether the geopolitical formation could, by unifying and building up on contestation mechanisms, contribute to the renewal and rebuilding of this doctrine, thus ensuring its greater credibility. The qualitative investigation is based on the study of interviews conducted with experts from BRICS and some western countries. The findings indicate that if BRICS member states succeed in adopting a common conceptual perspective, the global acceptance of the “Responsibility to Protect” could increase but that all the new checks and balances advocated by them could lead to delays in interventions to prevent human rights abuses moving forward.

Keywords: Responsibility to Protect, BRICS, decolonization, Rwanda, international norms


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For citation:
A. Crowley-Vigneau, Baykov A., Bunik I., Gao A. Rebuilding the R2P with BRICS Countries: A Normative Perspective. World Eñonomy and International Relations, 2024, vol. 68, no. 4, pp. 5-15. https://doi.org/10.20542/0131-2227-2024-68-4-5-15 EDN: WZVDPB



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