When Barack Obama took office, he pledged a new overture to the world’s emerging powers. Today each of the Brics – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – is at loggerheads with America, or worse. Last month four of the five abstained in a UN vote condemning the fifth’s annexation of Crimea. Next month India is likely to elect as its new leader Narendra Modi, who says he has “no interest in visiting America other than to attend the UN in New York”. As the world’s largest democracy, and America’s most natural ally among the emerging powers, India’s is a troubling weathervane. How on earth did Mr Obama lose the Brics?
巴拉克?奧巴馬(Barack Obama)上臺時承諾，要與全球新興國家建立新的友好關系。如今，巴西、俄羅斯、印度、中國和南非這五個金磚國家(Brics)每個都在與美國唱對臺戲、甚至更糟。上個月，在聯合國就譴責俄羅斯吞并克里米亞投票時，其余4個金磚國家都投了棄權票。下個月很可能當選為印度新領導人的納倫德拉?莫迪(Narendra Modi)表示，“除了去紐約出席聯合國會議以外，他沒有興趣訪問美國”。作為全球最大的民主國家、以及美國在新興國家中最天然的盟友，印度的對美態度是一個令人不安的政治風向標。奧巴馬到底是怎么失去金磚國家支持的？