Paper short abstract:

The paper analyses two different modes of Southern multilateralisms by comparing the New Development Bank (NDB) and the India Brazil South Africa (IBSA) Fund.

Paper long abstract:

A growing literature documents the emergence of a “new multilateralism” in the post-pandemic context (Telo, 2020; Kaul, 2020) and prior to it (IMF, 2018; Hampson and Heinbecker, 2011) to address challenges of inclusion and sustainability. Situated in the broader context of the changing global order, different strands of the literature debate the challenges offered by the “new multilateralism” to the Liberal International Order (Ikenberry, 2018), highlight the role of non-state “power brokers” (Subacci, 2014), and reflects on possibilities of South-South Cooperation (Mawdsley, 2013). While appreciating the emergence of a “new multilateralism”, scholars are only just beginning to document the variations within the new Southern-led multilateralism (Cooper, 2017; Wang, 2019). The proposed paper analyses two different modes of Southern multilateralisms by comparing the New Development Bank (NDB) and the India Brazil South Africa (IBSA) Fund. Staging a conversation between constructivist approaches in international relations (Wendt, 1999) with more recent formulations of power and hegemony (Acharya, 2017), the paper documents a slice of the diversity in Southern multilateralism and its implications on the liberal international order. A major contribution of the paper is to offer evidence of the variations within Southern multilateralisms. A subsidiary contribution is to reflect on the lessons that can be exchanged between the New Development Bank and the IBSA Fund and with other established multilateral bodies to promote inclusive sustainable development.