By+B.R.DEEPAK

WE have witnessed the world move away from uni-polarity towards bi-polarity， and now towards multi-polarity. The U.S. is not declining； however， its clout is fading as other countries such as China and India are gathering strength. Multi-polarity is reflected not only in these emerging economies but also in the organizations formed by developing countries and those by non-state actors. This heterogeneous multipolarity calls for a structural change.

Various scholars have tried to find ways to facilitate these structural changes. American political scientist Samuel Huntington coined the notion of a “uni-multipolar structure” with the U.S. at the core and various other countries extending diplomatic， economic and military support for its initiatives. Such a structural arrangement is unsustainable in the long term – the crises in Libya and Syria clearly demonstrate this. With Donald Trump in the White House， the fissures between the U.S. and its allies are becoming all too obvious and the insular thinking of the Trump administration shows that the U.S.， as well as its allies， will remain non-committal on shaping the future of global order.

American diplomat Richard Haass has argued that“non-polarity” is the answer， where dozens of countries could have the capability of “exercising different powers.” On the other hand， Giovanni Grevi， a senior fellow of the European Policy Center， argues that the world is becoming increasingly “inter-polar” which is “multi-polarity in the age of interdependence.” He puts a state at the center， but agrees that non-state actors could inflict a severe blow to the system. Whatever term is employed， everything points to multilateralism in the age of global interdependence. Multilateralism or multi-multilateralism is not necessarily the ultimate solution to bilateral or multilateral problems， but is still extremely important for conflict resolution and enhancing understanding and cooperation among nations.

BRICS is just one example of this. The group contributes to more than 50 percent of the worlds economic growth.

It is inevitable that the following issues will be dis- cussed in depth at the BRICS Xiamen Summit：

Globalization vs. Deglobalization

The West is now plagued with the following problems： Retrenchment of the West led by the U.S. and fissures in the Western alliance； doubts over the success of the European Union following Brexit and the resulting economic slump in most European countries， plus the refugee crisis. These issues in the West have resulted in countries becoming increasingly protectionist， so much so that the U.S. has pulled out of the Paris Agreement. In contrast， BRICS has remained committed to the Paris Agreement as well as to globalization and connectivity initiatives within the region and beyond.endprint