The BRICS partnership has been portrayed in mainstream social media as an inter-state initiative that could challenge the geo-political hegemony of the Western bloc. Thus, far relatively little has been said about the prospect of extending the partnership to the level of ordinary citizens and how this might be achieved. A declared goal of BRICS, articulated in 2016, is that of ‘‘building responsive, inclusive collective solutions to core themes with a particular focus on institution-building, implementing past commitments and exploring innovative solutions to common issues’’. This paper provides a preliminary assessment of the idea of ‘‘BRICS from below’’ might entail in policy terms by looking at how BRICS pronouncements have led to collective solutions, especially to economic development as it affects the local level, using South Africa as the case study site. The paper concludes that it appears the realities of the forms of engagement still resonate with more traditional forms of state led alliance building that are aimed less at transformation than at coordinating ‘national self-interest’.
BRICS Development Strategies: Exploring the Meaning of BRICS ‘Community’ and ‘Collective Action’ in the Context of BRICS State Led Cooperation in South Africa
- By Lisa Thompson
- February 22, 2017
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Lisa Thompson is a political economist and full Professor in the School of Government at the University of the Western Cape, South Africa. Since 1998 she has led participatory, community orientated research aimed at amplifying the development dynamics and contradictions between local and global in international development and participatory democratic development initiatives. While located within international global political economy and development debates and dynamics, the research focus developed over past decades includes a strong action based component including both mutual learning and advocacy work with grassroots community groups, civil society, non-governmental organisations, social movements and ad hoc forms of community activism and mobilization from below. Lisa was the Director of the African Centre for Citizenship and Democracy from 2007 – 2022.