India’s Foreign Minister, S. Jaishankar, recently gave a fascinating explanation of why the BRICS group—comprised of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—is unlike any other international alliance. Speaking at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, Jaishankar compared BRICS to other well-known trade groups like the European Union and NAFTA, pointing out that BRICS doesn’t follow the usual rules or patterns of regional cooperation.

In his remarks, Jaishankar explained that BRICS was originally formed as a counterbalance to the G7, a group of the world’s most advanced economies that had historically kept membership exclusive. "There was this other club, called the G7, and they wouldn’t let anyone else join," Jaishankar said. So, the BRICS nations decided to create their own group—one that would allow emerging powers to have a greater voice on the world stage. 

Jaishankar noted that BRICS started small but has grown in both size and influence. While it originally...