World leaders face a slew of multilateral summits over the coming month, including the BRICS meeting in South Africa, the G20 in India, and the UN General Assembly in New York. This rare convergence of top-tier international gatherings is a symptom of the increasing importance of high-level summitry in international diplomacy.
Having essentially stumbled into the business of being an analyst and commentator on multilateral matters by chance, I often feel uncomfortable offering others career advice. But if I cannot be of much help as a career planner, what I’ve learned over the past two decades does allow me to offer some tips about how to be a policy wonk.
The divisive debate within BRICS over whether and how aggressively to expand membership is a sign the group lacks a clear mission and direction. But it also underscores the differences in how BRICS’ members view both the benefits they receive from the grouping and their future role in the international community.
