BRICS and Beyond

Bringing together country studies from the Middle East, Africa and Asia, this book assesses the motivations, opportunities and constraints associated with BRICS expansion. It features analysis of new members: Iran, Indonesia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates; the partner-country cases of Nigeria and Kazakhstan; prospective engagement by Bangladesh and Türkiye; and Argentina’s decision not to join. The volume also examines agriculture, climate governance, development finance and strategic autonomy. Rather than treating BRICS+ as a unified anti-Western bloc, the book presents it as a flexible and heterogeneous platform shaped by competing national priorities, uneven capacities and overlapping geopolitical alignments. It offers a timely assessment of whether enlargement can generate meaningful cooperation or whether growing diversity will weaken institutional coherence.