Towards a Future for BRICS+

Towards a Future for BRICS+
Editors: Heiwai Tang, Brian Wong Yue Shun
Publisher: University of Chicago Press (co-published with Asia Global Institute, HKU)
Publication Year: 2025

Towards a Future for BRICS+, edited by Heiwai Tang and Brian Wong Yue Shun, provides a comprehensive and timely analysis of the BRICS+ bloc as it expands beyond its original five members—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Indonesia, and the UAE, with Saudi Arabia invited to join. The book explores the economic, political, and strategic complementarities among these emerging powers, while also addressing the internal tensions and governance challenges that accompany such a diverse coalition. Through rigorous, evidence-based research, the volume assesses the potential of BRICS+ to influence global trade, finance, climate policy, and multilateral institutions, offering insight into its capacity to act as a counterweight to the G7. By situating the BRICS+ countries within the broader context of the Global South, the editors examine the implications of their growing influence for a more multipolar world order. Contributors provide critical perspectives on the bloc’s internal dynamics, regional ambitions, and the prospects for coordinated action, highlighting both the strengths and limitations of BRICS+. This collection is an essential resource for scholars, policymakers, and professionals seeking to understand the evolving global order, the role of emerging economies, and the challenges and opportunities posed by the rise of BRICS+ as a major geopolitical and economic force.

Contents

Acknowledgements
Nomenclature

Introduction: Demystifying and Understanding BRICS+ – Heiwai Tang and Brian Wong Yue Shun

1. The New Global South in the Emerging Multiplex World Order – Amitav Acharya
2. BRICS+ Expansion in a Changing Geopolitical Landscape: Reforming the Global Governance and Security Architecture – Philani Mthembu
3. The Geopolitics of BRICS+: Between (and Beyond) Institutional Balancing and Institutional Hedging – Cheng-Chwee Kuik and Abdul Razak Ahmad
4. Southeast Asia and BRICS+: In or Out, and Why? – Thitinan Pongsudhirak
5. Multilateralism for Multipolarity: BRICS+ Sustainability Diplomacy – Lucie Qian Xia
6. A Rationale for Enhanced Trade Relations Among the BRICS+ Countries – ManMohan S. Sodhi and Christopher S. Tang
7. The Global Financial Safety Net: Strengthening the Anchor of the International Monetary System – Anoop Singh
8. The National Innovation Systems of BRICS Countries: A Comparison with South Korea – Keun Lee and Jinhee Kim
9. The Role of the Digital Economy in the BRICS+ Grouping – Kian-Ming Ong

List of Contributors