A comparative overview of Brazil and South Africa’s BRICS Agendas, 2011-2017

Main Article Content

Murilo Gomes da Costa State University of Rio de Janeiro https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3302-6787

Keywords

Brazil, South Africa, BRICS, Geopolitical South, Southern Regional Powers, Comparative Analysis

Abstract

This paper presents a comparative overview of Brazil and South African diplomacy towards the BRICS group in the period 2011-2017. Using the conceptual framework from the regional power studies, we present Dilma’s Rousseff (2011-2016) and Zuma’s (2009-2018) diplomacy towards BRIC/BRICS, seeking to understand their roles and contributions in broadening the group’s thematic agendas. In addition, we also present a timeline of the BRICS creation and institutionalization throughout its annual summits. The main sources of this research were both Brazil and South Africa’s online archives and documents on foreign affairs, as well as the specialized literature from the International Relations and Political Science field. We conclude that both Brazil and South Africa’s diplomacies towards the BRICS were part of the relational dimension of both regional powers in search for international protagonism. On the other hand, at the systemic level, it was a matter of bringing innovation to the South-South Cooperation field, promoting multilateralism, and contributing to the construction of a more diverse and inclusive international order.

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