Conflict & Resilience Monitor – 28 September 2023

The 2023 BRICS summit hosted by South Africa between the 19th and 24th of August is bound to be one of its most historic. The resultant communique, named the Johannesburg II Declaration, is notable for five areas – four by commission and one by omission (i.e., what the summit did not deliver on). These are as follows: firstly, reaffirmations made in line with previous declarations which showed consistency; secondly, the deliverables it produced in line with its declared theme; thirdly, more upfront language on the inclusion of Brazil, India and South Africa in the United Nations Security Council as part of its reform; fourthly, there was the admission of new members; finally, there is silence on the highly anticipated “de-dollarisation.” Each of these merit a close examination.

When Jim O’Neill coined the BRIC acronym in 2001, the point he was trying to convey was that the global economic system needed to incorporate the world’s largest emerging economies. His advice fell on deaf ears and in 2009, Brazil, China, India and Russia decided to take matters into their own hands and formed the BRIC grouping. South Africa joined the group in 2010 to form the BRICS. This July the group held its 15th Summit in South Africa, and decided to add six new members: Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Many more are likely to join in the future, including countries like Indonesia and Nigeria.

On 29 September 2023, Eswatini is set to hold elections, the second set of major elections in Southern Africa following the elections in Zimbabwe in August. Zimbabwe has often found itself on the agenda of the peace and security organs of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and within the international community over the last few decades. However, in the past few years, Eswatini has also emerged as a recurring concern on SADC’s security agenda. This has meant that major events, such as elections, take on even more significance, as they are perceived as potential flashpoints for unrest and political instability within the country.

Elections are crucial to the functioning of any democracy as they provide an ideal mechanism for democratic changes of government. This is particularly pivotal on the African continent in the context of democratic consolidation and mitigating the unconstitutional changes of government. As such, questions on how to strengthen political transitions towards democratic governance and consolidation in Africa need to focus on improving electoral integrity and quality on the continent.