Rising Powers, People Rising: Neoliberalization and Its Discontents in the BRICS Countries

Rising Powers, People Rising: Neoliberalization and Its Discontents in the BRICS Countries
Authors: Alf Gunvald Nilsen, Karl von Holdt
Publisher: Routledge
Publication Year: 2021
 

About this Book
Rising Powers, People Rising offers a groundbreaking exploration of the political economy and social dynamics in the BRICS countries—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—through the lens of neo-liberalization and popular struggles. The book examines how rapid economic growth and integration into the global economy have produced both opportunities and significant socio-economic inequalities. While the BRICS nations are often celebrated as rising powers capable of challenging Western dominance in global markets and geopolitics, this volume highlights the deep-seated vulnerabilities faced by large segments of their populations.

Through detailed case studies, the book investigates how these vulnerabilities generate political and social mobilization. From single-issue protests to sustained social movements, the chapters explore how people in the BRICS countries navigate precarious economic conditions and demand structural transformations. The contributions critically assess the contradictions between mainstream narratives of economic success and the lived realities of marginalized populations. By integrating social, political, and economic perspectives, this volume sheds light on the complex interplay between development trajectories and popular resistance, making it essential reading for scholars and students of political economy, sociology, development studies, and Global South politics.

Contents

Introduction

• Rising Powers, People Rising: Neo-liberalization and Its Discontents in the BRICS Countries – Alf Gunvald Nilsen, Karl von Holdt

Chapters

1. China’s Precariats – Ching Kwan Lee
2. Social Mobilizations and the Question of Social Justice in Contemporary Russia – Karine Clement
3. Mapping Movement Landscapes in South Africa – Karl von Holdt, Prishani Naidoo
4. Uncovering a Politics of Livelihoods: Analysing Displacement and Contention in Contemporary India – Gayatri A. Menon, Aparna Sundar
5. A Precarious Hegemony: Neoliberalism, Social Struggles, and the End of Lulismo in Brazil – Ruy Braga, Sean Purdy
6. Neo-development of Underdevelopment: Brazil and the Political Economy of South American Integration under the Workers’ Party – Fabio Luis Barbosa dos Santos