Active Citizenship in an Evolving BRICS: Reflections on India and South African by Lubna Nadvi

BRICS has since its formal inception in 2009, been perceived to be the alternative global voice to the hegemony of the G7 economic bloc of industrialised Western nations. It was set up primarily to serve as a multi-lateral inter-governmental organisation to represent the economic interests of what is generally referred to as the Global South. While it originally started off as a group of 4 countries eventually including South Africa it has since 2011 grown to include more members, such as Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the UAE. Argentina declined an invitation to be a member and there is no clarity yet on whether Saudi Arabia will formally join or not. The most recent summit of BRICS + hosted in Russia in October 2024 hosted representatives of more than 30 nations and showcased in particular South Africa’s role on the global stage.While BRICS gatherings are often characterised by the economic and foreign policy stances of the heads of the member nations, there is not much focus on the role played by the citizens of BRICS + nations. Given that the original purpose of the existence of BRICS was to create alternative markets for countries of the South, to benefit their people it is however not really evident how BRICS + actually engages its citizenry. This work in progress presentation attempts to look at 2 cases studies within the BRICS block, India and South Africa to explore what active role ordinary people play within the BRICS framework, if any at all, and if they are engaging as active citizens to hold their governments accountable in terms of their commitments to the BRICS principles.