Adjunct rather than alternative in global governance: an examination of BRICS as an international bloc through the perception of its members

This article is aimed at the analysis of the perceptions of BRICS member states – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – on the role of BRICS as an actor in international politics. While numerous analyses of BRICS have already been provided, little attention has been given to the deliberate self-presentation of the group per country. As such, this work examines whether these countries themselves perceive the BRICS as a political body that offers an alternative to the Western political imaginary. The focus is on how the BRICS member states construct meanings of what BRICS is and put these perspectives into dialogue with each other. Through a critical discourse analysis, this work takes the official documents released by BRICS countries (e.g. texts and speeches) and examines how these documents reflect each BRICS country’s perception of BRICS as a group. Findings show that despite BRICS’ unified agenda and plans of action, considerable heterogeneity persists in the perceptions of each BRICS member country concerning the role of BRICS in the international community. The shared vision of the BRICS members remains reflective of the Western framework. However, while the BRICS bloc may not offer a full-fledged alternative politics to that of the West, it still offers an alternative reading of contemporary international politics. Considering also its current state as a group-in-progress, BRICS is significant for its adjunct role in global governance, not least through the differences between the countries and the uncertainty of its future, challenging how to examine historical transitions.