Editor's note: Decision Makers is a global platform for decision makers to share their insights on events shaping today's world. Andrey Kortunov is director general of the Russian International Affairs Council. The article reflects the author's opinions and not necessarily those of CGTN.
The 14th BRICS Summit is being held in virtual format in Beijing, China. Under turbulent international situations, the question of whether BRICS should indeed play a significant role in international security remains open. Numerous skeptics believe that security issues should remain outside of the BRICS mandate because BRICS has little to contribute here if compared to institutions specifically created to handle security challenges.
金砖国家领导人第十四次会晤在北京以视频方式举行。在当前动荡的国际局势下，金砖国家是否应在国际安全方面发挥重要作用仍是热议话题。众多对此持怀疑态度的人士认为，安全问题不应纳入该组织的议程，因为与那些专门为应对安全挑战而设立的机构相比，金砖五国在这方面能够做出的贡献极为有限。Their arguments can be concluded as the three following aspects. Firstly, security has always been closely linked to geography. Secondly, security cooperation tends to presuppose common values and coinciding views on the international system. Thirdly, effective security cooperation is possible if the institution in question has a clear and specific security-related mandate.他们给出的理由主要有这样几个：首先，安全总是和地理位置息息相关；第二，安全合作的先决条件通常是合作各方具有共同的价值观并且对国际体系的看法一致；第三，只有在某一组织机构具备清晰具体的安全议程时，安全合作才能得以有效展开。 These arguments cannot be dismissed as irrelevant. But it is also hard to unconditionally accept them since they reflect traditional views on security which no longer fully reflect the realities of the 21st century. Meanwhile, these realities allow us to assess the capabilities of BRICS in the security domain a little more optimistically, even if the capabilities of BRICS have not yet been fully used. 虽然这些观点并非毫无道理，但同样也很难让人全盘接受，因为这些传统的安全观已经无法全面地反映21世纪的现实情况。同时，这些现实情况也让我们可以更为乐观地评估金砖国家在安全领域的能力，尽管金砖国家的能力还未得到充分发挥。 Let's start with geography. In general, security problems affect countries geographically close to each other. Conflicts and wars, as well as alliances and unions, arise mainly between neighbors. But in today's world, there are many dimensions of security that are not so rigidly tied to geography. 我们先来谈谈地理位置因素。一般来说，安全问题会影响地理位置相近的国家。冲突和战争主要发生在邻国之间，同盟和联盟也多由相邻的国家组成。但在当今世界中，安全在许多维度上并非和地理位置密切相关。 Problems such as cyber security, international terrorism, climate change and the threat of pandemics do not have a specific geographical preference; they are global in nature. Within BRICS, they already actively discuss "non-geographical" issues of international security: non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the use of atomic energy and space for peaceful purposes, international information security and potential threats associated with new technologies. 网络安全、国际恐怖主义、气候变化和全球大流行病等威胁都属于全球性问题，不受地理因素限制。在金砖国家内部，成员们已经在积极讨论“非地理性”国际安全问题，例如大规模杀伤性武器不扩散、出于和平目的对原子能和太空的利用、国际信息安全和与新科技相关的潜在威胁等。 On the other hand, the regionalization (fragmentation) of the global political and economic systems taking place today contains challenges to international security. If the world breaks apart into a number of blocs, such development can result not only in economic competition between them, but ultimately in a military confrontation. 此外，目前全球性政治和经济体系的地区化（碎片化）趋势也对国际安全造成了威胁。如果世界分解为若干阵营集团，它们之间不仅会产生经济上的竞争，还会最终走向军事对抗。 Therefore, BRICS, figuratively speaking, can help to "sew" the fabric of global security that is being fragmented in front of our eyes. Interaction within the framework of BRICS can become one of the factors hindering the formation of a bipolar system of world politics. 因此，打个比方来说，金砖国家合作有助于“缝合”正在分崩离析的全球安全体系。金砖框架下的交流互动能够成为阻止国际政治两极化的因素之一。
What about values? Tasks related to international security are not always solved on the basis of a unity of values. Very often, the task is precisely to find a balance of interests between countries whose values differ significantly.那么价值观因素呢？解决国际安全问题的前提并不一定是价值观统一，而通常是在价值观相去甚远的国家间找到利益平衡点。 In a sense, we can say that the composition of the UN Security Council reflects the significant pluralism of values that exists in the modern world. The notion that humanity was rapidly moving towards the universalization of Western liberal values two or three decades ago has not been confirmed by the course of history. 在某种意义上，联合国安理会体现了当今世界存在的多元化价值观。二三十年前所认为的西方自由主义价值观正快速发展成为人类社会普世价值观的观点并没有得到历史的印证。 There is every reason to assume that the pluralism of values in the world will only increase over time. Security will have to be negotiated not on the basis of common values but on the basis of converging interests.我们完全有理由相信，随着时间的推移，价值观的多元化趋势必定会增强。针对安全问题的磋商不会建筑在共同价值观之上，而是以共同利益为基础。 BRICS, like the UN Security Council, has members with different sets of values. It is a small but very representative organization – especially if we take into account not only the BRICS members but also those countries that are somehow involved in the organization's project activities (BRICS+). Therefore, if something can be agreed upon within the framework of BRICS, then it can be agreed on in a broader format, up to the level of global agreements. 同联合国安理会一样，金砖成员国也有着不同的价值观体系。在这方面，金砖国家组织颇具代表性——特别是除金砖五国外，还有许多其他国家也不同程度地参与着该组织的合作项目（“金砖+”机制）。所以说，金砖国家组织在其框架下能够达成范围较为广泛的协议，甚至是国际性协议。 Thus, BRICS can be perceived as a laboratory for working out those solutions in the field of security that are likely to be acceptable to very different participants. In addition, each of the BRICS countries is able to pull its many partners and allies along with it.因此，金砖国家组织可以看做是用以制定相关各方均能接受的安全问题解决方案的试验场。此外，金砖五国也可以向各自的众多伙伴和盟友寻求支持。 Finally, let us turn to the issue of the BRICS mandate. International organizations, among other classifications, can be divided into specialized and universal ones. For the latter, a vague mandate is not necessarily a bad thing, especially if such a vague mandate combines security and development concerns. 最后，让我们来探讨一下金砖国家组织的目标。对国际组织的划分方法众多，其中之一是将其分为专门性组织和普遍性组织。对于后者来说，制定较为模糊的目标并不一定是坏事，特别是当这类模糊目标同时包含安全和发展关切时。 In today's world, these problems cannot be separated from each other. Without security, it is impossible to count on progressive development, but without successful development there will be no sustainable security. Unfortunately, security issues are still very often separated from development issues, and these two areas are dealt with by different institutions and different groups of officials and experts. 当今世界，这些关切并不是脱离彼此单独存在的。没有安全，就不可能实现持续发展；而没有成功的发展，持久安全就无从谈起。遗憾的是，安全问题和发展问题仍时常被分割开来，由不同的机构组织以及不同的官员和专家分别应对。 However, the logic of development and the logic of security do not diverge from each other any longer. If BRICS succeeds in trying to reconcile these two logics, it will benefit everyone. In particular, such a project format of work may be in demand in the UN system where specialized organizations often do not interact enough with each other.然而，发展的逻辑和安全的逻辑已不再是相互背离的。如果金砖国家能够将这两个逻辑相整合，那么所有人都将受益。尤其需要指出的是，这样的尝试可能也是联合国体系所需要的，因为其内部各专门性组织之间缺乏交流。 Therefore, it's necessary to maximize the comparative advantages of existing formats of multilateral cooperation like BRICS which bring their own specific features to the table. In the field of security, BRICS could well become a testing ground for developing multilateral approaches to new challenges and threats of the 21st century.因此，最大程度地发挥金砖国家既有的多边合作机制的相对优势是十分必要的，因为这能够使各成员的特点得以展现。在安全领域，金砖国家可尝试通过多边手段来应对21世纪的新挑战和新威胁。 推荐阅读：