The European Union and the BRICS: Complex Relations in the Era of Global Governance
The European Union and the BRICS: Complex Relations in the Era of Global Governance
Editor: Marek Rewizorski
Publisher: Springer International Publishing, Cham, Switzerland
Publication Year: 2015
About the Book
The European Union and the BRICS: Complex Relations in the Era of Global Governance is a comprehensive academic exploration of the dynamic and evolving relationship between the European Union and the BRICS nations — Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. Edited by Marek Rewizorski, the book presents a series of analytical essays written by leading scholars in the fields of international relations, global governance, and comparative political economy. It investigates how these two major global actors — the EU, representing the institutional and normative power of the West, and the BRICS, symbolizing the rising influence of the Global South — interact within the broader framework of global governance.
The book opens with a detailed conceptual analysis of governance beyond traditional state-centric models. It argues that international relations today are defined by a complex network of formal and informal actors operating across rather than within borders. Rewizorski and contributors highlight how the decentralization of power has created new spaces for cooperation and competition, in which the EU and BRICS must both assert influence and adapt to shared challenges.
Through two major sections, the work delves first into the theoretical and institutional evolution of BRICS as a collective actor and then into its multifaceted relations with the EU. The first part traces the rise of BRICS as a challenge to Western economic and political hegemony, linking its emergence to post-2008 transformations in the global order. The second part provides case-based studies on how the EU engages individually with each BRICS member in the fields of trade, security, energy, and development. It examines, for example, EU–China economic interdependence, India–EU diplomatic frictions, Russia–EU energy geopolitics, Brazil–EU trade dynamics, and South Africa’s dual position as both BRICS member and African representative.
Throughout the text, Rewizorski emphasizes that the EU’s normative influence is being tested by the pluralism and assertiveness of the BRICS bloc. While the EU seeks to promote liberal-democratic norms and multilateral cooperation, the BRICS countries advocate a more flexible, sovereignty-oriented, and economically pragmatic order. This interaction between a declining yet institutionally powerful West and a rising but internally diverse South defines much of the contemporary global landscape.
In sum, the book provides a nuanced perspective on whether future world politics will be shaped by systemic conflict between established and emerging powers or by their gradual accommodation within shared governance frameworks. It presents both a warning and an opportunity — a call to understand how coexistence and competition can together reshape the international system
Contents
Introduction - Marek Rewizorski
Part I - The European Union, the BRICS and Global Governance
BRICS and the Evolution of a New Agenda Within Global
Governance - Niall Duggan
The BRICS in the Global Order: A New Political Agenda? - Marco Antonio MartinsIs
BRICS Institutionalization Enhancing Its Effectiveness? - Marina Larionova and Andrey Shelepov
Participation of the European Union and the BRICS in the G20 - Marek Rewizorski
Part II - The European Union and the BRICS: Power Relations in the Era of Global Governance
Russia, China and the EU: Power Relations in a Complex International System - Maria Raquel Freire
Examination of the Contemporary EU-China Political and Economic Links - Mireia Paulo
India’s Rise, the European Union and the BRICS: An Uneasy Relation - Johannes Dragsbaek Schmidtv
From Interregionalism to Bilateralism: Power and Interests in EU-Brazil Trade Cooperation - Aukje van Loon
Opportunities, Challenges and Prospects of South Africa in the BRICS - Sotiris Petropoulos
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