The G4 Nations is a political cooperative alliance and concept, not an institution or act, comprising Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan. The primary purpose of the G4 is to support each other's bids for permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The group was formally established in 2005 with the aim of reforming the UNSC to reflect contemporary global realities and ensure more inclusive decision-making. The problem it seeks to solve is the outdated structure of the UNSC, which was established in 1945 and does not include major global powers that have emerged since then.
The key mechanism of the G4 is a joint proposal for UNSC reform, which advocates for the expansion of both the permanent and non-permanent categories of membership. The G4 model proposes increasing the Security Council's membership from the current 15 to 25-26, by adding six new permanent members and four or five new non-permanent members. The proposal suggests that two of the six new permanent seats should be from African States, two from Asia-Pacific states, one from Latin American and Caribbean states, and one from West European and Other States.
The G4's efforts are closely connected to the broader concept of UNSC reform and the Intergovernmental Negotiations (IGN) process within the UN General Assembly. The G4 is opposed by the Uniting for Consensus (UfC) group, often nicknamed the "Coffee Club," which is led by countries like Italy and Pakistan and opposes the expansion of permanent seats. Recently, the G4 has shown flexibility by proposing a compromise where newly added permanent members would not exercise the veto power until a decision on the matter is reached during a 15-year review. This proposal aims to break the long-standing deadlock in negotiations, while the G4 continues to oppose a "two-tier" system of permanent membership without veto rights.