South Africa

November 30, 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of the article that popularized the acronym BRICS. When Jim O’Neill claimed that ‘it is time for the world to build better global economic BRICs’ he referred to Brazil, Russia, India and China as dynamos of global growth for the following decade, potential destinations for international investments, and as a pressure factor for expanding ‘the key body of global economic policy co-ordination’, the G-7. However, two decades later O’Neill (Project Syndicate, 09/16/21) was tough: ‘The bloc’s ongoing failure to develop substantive policies through its annual summitry has become increasingly glaring’. O’Neill pointed out low trade integration, unequal growth, little assertiveness in the face of the international order, a lack of coordination concerning priority issues, and a missed opportunity to form strategic cooperation agreements. And he asked, ‘When is that influence going to show up?’

Com o passar do tempo, os membros do BRICS foram descobrindo e encontrando muitas oportunidades de cooperação, assim como as organizações da sociedade civil foram aproveitando para se conhecer e empreender interessantes processos de cooperação, particularmente na área da ciência e da tecnologia, envolvendo institutos e universidades. Recentemente, no entanto, relações do Brasil com o grupo esfriaram de forma considerável.