Let Brazil In

My latest article over at the Varsity.

As Canada braces for the 2010 G8 Summit in Huntsville, one question is on the mind of every pertinent policy maker and opinion leader: how should the Group of Eight expand? There are endlessly differing concepts of how the G8 should enlarge itself, from the usual talk of adding China and India to more ambitious plans of merging the G20 and G8 into one. The proposals have resulted in a Bingo-call of sorts—the G14? G8+5? G22?—but very little concrete decision making.

The problems plaguing the reform process are manifold. Make the G8 too large and you risk gridlocking the system, relegating the institution to a forum for talk and nothing more. Including China would no doubt create major ideological disputes among the members on issues of global governance, human rights, and humanitarian intervention. Adding India—with its economic ascendance and democratic nature—would seem like a prudent move, but geopolitics could get in the way. For example, placing India in a new position of power would greatly heighten China’s perception of India as a regional competitor and threat. If the intention of western powers is to help China buy into the ideology of the G8, including India without China would risk further alienating the People’s Republic.

Of the four BRIC rising powers—an acronym coined in 2001 by Goldman Sachs to include Brazil, Russia, India, and China—Brazil may be the only member that will pass all litmus tests set by the G8. It is arguably the regional hegemon of Latin America, a leader among developing countries, and a liberal, albeit imperfect, democracy. In the age of peak oil and global climate change, Brazil’s rising profile is evident in its innovative work on alternative fuels. In 2008, Brazil produced 37 per cent of the world’s ethanol (much of which was the sugar cane variety, which is far more energy efficient than corn). The recent awarding of the 2016 Summer Olympic Games to Rio de Janeiro—the first Latin American city to ever play host—is another indicator of Brazil’s increasing relevance in the world.

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