Results vs. Rhetoric: Analyzing BRICS Cooperation
Author
Enache, Eduard
Term
4. term
Publication year
2014
Submitted on
2014-07-29
Pages
43
Abstract
A decade after BRIC became BRICS, this thesis examines why the group’s cooperation has produced few concrete development outcomes despite repeated summit rhetoric about equality, South–South cooperation, and reform of Western-led institutions. Using a multi-method qualitative design, it employs case studies of BRICS summit outcomes up to 2014 and of the China–India relationship to assess how intra-BRICS dynamics shape collective action. The analysis draws on primary sources such as summit declarations and official press releases, complemented by academic literature and media reports, and engages realist and neorealist perspectives alongside neoliberal institutionalism and debates on multilateralism. While acknowledging limitations related to source diversity and scope, the findings indicate that BRICS cooperation largely prioritizes power signaling and a reformist narrative over delivering tangible development initiatives for non-members, reflecting member states’ individual interests and the constraints of an anarchic international system.
Et årti efter at BRIC blev til BRICS undersøger denne afhandling, hvorfor gruppens samarbejde trods gentagen topmøderetorik om lighed, Syd‑Syd-samarbejde og reform af vestligt ledede institutioner har givet få konkrete udviklingsresultater. Med en kvalitativ flerstrenget tilgang anvendes casestudier af BRICS-topmødernes resultater frem til 2014 samt af forholdet mellem Kina og Indien for at vurdere, hvordan interne dynamikker påvirker kollektiv handling. Analysen bygger på primærkilder som topmødeerklæringer og officielle pressemeddelelser, suppleret af akademisk litteratur og medier, og inddrager realistiske og neorealistiske perspektiver sammen med neoliberalinstitutionalisme og diskussioner om multilateralisme. På trods af erkendte begrænsninger i kildediversitet og omfang peger resultaterne på, at BRICS-samarbejdet i høj grad prioriterer magtsignaler og en reformistisk fortælling frem for leveringen af håndgribelige udviklingsinitiativer for ikke-medlemmer, hvilket afspejler medlemsstaternes egne interesser og rammerne i et anarkisk internationalt system.
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Keywords