IBSA
Also called: India-Brazil-South Africa Dialogue Forum · Topic: India's External Relations, 1947-1999: Non-alignment, Wars and Nuclear Policy · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
IBSA is the India-Brazil-South Africa Dialogue Forum. It is a small group of three countries, one each from Asia, South America and Africa. All three are large democracies with many cultures, languages and religions. The forum was set up through the Brasilia Declaration. It is not based on any article of the Constitution and it is not a military alliance. It promotes South-South cooperation, which means developing countries working together directly instead of depending only on rich nations. It also gives the developing world a joint voice in global bodies.
Example
IBSA is often given as an example of a middle-power or South-South coalition. A middle power is a country below superpower rank that gains influence through diplomacy and partnerships. India uses forums like IBSA to work on shared goals, such as reform of the UN Security Council and a bigger role for the Global South, without joining any bloc. This fits India's idea of strategic autonomy.
Don't confuse with
- BRICS: it also has India, Brazil and South Africa, but it adds Russia and China. So it is not a club of democracies only. IBSA has just the three democracies.
- Non-Aligned Movement (NAM): a large Cold War movement founded at Belgrade in 1961 by states that stayed out of both military blocs. IBSA is a small three-country forum for cooperation, not a movement about staying out of blocs.