Patrick Bond Likens the BRICS Summit in March 2013 to the Berlin Conference of 1884
Patrick Bond, author of Politics of Climate Justice, has written an article for Pambazuka News decrying the wisdom of the BRICS meeting in Durban in March 2013.
He sees it as another gathering of politicians with no real and lasting change on the ground when it comes to climate justice. Not only that, he says, leaders seem to have signed protocols that will ensure oil dependence for the foreseeable future and a continued “squeezing” of poverty reduction campaigns that are at the mercy of neo-liberal agendas.
“Like Berlin in 1884-85, the BRICS Durban summit is expected to carve up Africa more efficiently, unburdened – now as then – by what will be derided as ‘Western’ concerns about democracy and human rights,” Bond says:
The heads of state of the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) network of governments are coming to Durban, South Africa, in four months, meeting on March 26-27 at the International Convention Centre (ICC), Africa’s largest venue. Given their recent performance, it is reasonable to expect another “1%” summit, wreaking socioeconomic and ecological havoc. And that means it is time for the first BRICS countersummit, to critique top-down “sub-imperialist” bloc formation, and to offer bottom-up alternatives.
After all, we have had some bad experiences at the Durban ICC.
Book details
- Politics of Climate Justice: Paralysis Above, Movement Below by Patrick Bond
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EAN: 9781869142216
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