The BRICS and the Transformation of Global Governance: A Decolonial Perspective

Abstract

What is the agenda of the Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) platform? And what is its potential for transforming global governance towards one that works for all, especially in the developing world? In response to these questions, this paper suggests that we place BRICS within the context of debates in the global South about global alternatives, including critical perspectives on globalisation, which is the context that shapes our perspective on global governance. The paper uses a decolonial analytic lens, which privileges historical continuity and structural-agency analysis, to identify key nodes of the South ideal for alternative globalisation to guide our analysis in response to the question: Does BRICS have the potential to contribute to transforming the system of global governance? After suggesting ways of understanding the problems of global governance and globalisation, the paper presents four critical steps towards a new global governance system that BRICS might consider in catalysing the global reforms expected.