Pour favoriser l’acceptabilité de ses projets économiques et diplomatiques en Afrique de l’Ouest francophone, Pékin a mis en place un dispositif médiatique visant à diffuser des récits favorables autour de sa puissance. Dans cette stratégie, les médias chinois utilisent les BRICS+ pour construire l’image d’une organisation portée par la Chine, à travers des narratifs anti-impérialistes et multilatéralistes. En parallèle, les publications chinoises associent aux contenus pro-BRICS+ le concept de « Sud global » défendu par Pékin en Afrique francophone, (...) cherchant à construire la représentation d’une Chine bienveillante et défenseuse de rapports équilibrés entre États. Une image qui apparait en contradiction avec l’influence de Pékin dans les relations sino-africaines (premier partenaire commercial du continent africain, leader des BRICS+ et du Sud global). Dès lors, les BRICS+ deviennent un objet informationnel dans la stratégie d’influence de Pékin qui manipule des représentations géopolitiques d’inspiration tiers-mondiste en vue de convaincre des audiences africaines francophones de la légitimité de sa présence sur le continent. Le récit pro-BRICS+ véhiculé par la Chine en Afrique produit ainsi l’illusion d’un multilatéralisme de Pékin, qui mène un projet de puissance aux caractéristiques impérialistes. (shrink)

Cet entretien analyse les raisons de l’adhésion de l’Indonésie aux BRICS+ en 2024, en la replaçant dans la continuité d’une politique étrangère historiquement fondée sur le non-alignement, aujourd’hui réinterprété comme une stratégie de multi-alignement pragmatique. Cette décision s’explique à la fois par les contraintes rencontrées dans la candidature du pays à l’OCDE, par l’activisme diplomatique du président Prabowo Subianto et par la volonté d’affirmer un rôle d’acteur global au sein du « Sud global ». La discussion montre toutefois que (...) l’Indonésie n’adopte pas une posture de rupture avec l’ordre international libéral : elle défend une évolution vers davantage d’inclusivité et critique les « doubles standards », tout en restant attachée aux principes universalistes issus de Bandung et du multilatéralisme onusien. (shrink)

Papers presented at the 6th BRICS Academic Forum held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 2014.

BRICS has philosophical significance. It creates new pressure on cross-cultural skill. This is analysed here as requiring transduction: a variety of defeasible practical reasoning. This replaces a simplistic model of the relation between knowledge and action with a more realistic and contemporary model. The transduction format has utility in cross-cultural training.

Cette discussion analyse les effets du retour de Donald Trump sur l’ordre international et la place des BRICS+. Loin de favoriser un multipolarisme structuré, la présidence Trump II accélère le démantèlement de l’ordre international libéral au profit d’une logique fondée sur les rapports de force, les intérêts économiques et des convergences idéologiques illibérales. Les BRICS+ ne sont pas appréhendés comme un bloc homogène, mais comme un ensemble à fragmenter. L’administration Trump privilégie un noyau restreint – Russie, Inde, Chine (...) – tout en marginalisant d’autres membres et en contournant les cadres multilatéraux. La rupture avec l’usage normatif du droit international, l’arsenalisation de l’économie et l’affaiblissement du soft power américain contribuent à la fragmentation de l’« Occident global ». Cette recomposition ne stabilise pas un nouvel ordre multipolaire mais installe un désordre stratégique durable. (shrink)

La reciente ampliación de los BRICS al formato BRICS+ ha incorporado al club cinco nuevos estados: Irán, Arabia Saudí, Egipto, Emiratos Árabes Unidos y Etiopía. Si los cinco estados originales ya planteaban un desafío relevante al orden mundial de carácter liberal —particularmente las tres potencias regionales de Europa y Asia (Rusia, China e India) —existen importantes incertidumbres en torno al carácter potencialmente contra-normativo que este bloque de diez estados puede representar para el actual ordenamiento jurídico internacional. Los riesgos (...) de fragmentación del sistema internacional en diversos subsistemas regionales y funcionales amenazan al multilateralismo —con una reivindicación de las demandas del llamado Sur Global—, y pueden derivar en un desorden geopolítico que propicie alianzas de intereses comunes entre sistemas políticos autoritarios, nulamente interesados en la aplicación interna del marco normativo de los derechos humanos. (shrink)

This article investigates the use of favors by managers of BRIC firms to accomplish business goals, the ethicality of which should be determined by the moral reasoning in these countries rather than from a developed country perspective. We define a favor as an exchange of outcomes between individuals, typically utilizing one's connections, that is based on a commonly understood cultural tradition, with reciprocity by the receiver typically not being immediate, and its value being less than what would constitute bribery within (...) that cultural context. This exchange normally takes place between and among members of networks, and may involve a network outsider contacted by a network insider on behalf of another insider. We see the giver and receiver of the favor, as well as network insiders and outsiders, as stakeholders. Additionally, society could also be considered to be a stakeholder since the practice of using favors generally inhibits the development of legitimate, strong formal institutions, since the use of favors in emerging economies is rooted in cultural traditions that we view as informal institutions. Furthermore, we assert that the practice of using favors can lead to bribery which harms society as a stakeholder both morally and economically. We posit that BRIC-country managers' behaviors stem from informal, culturally based practices—jeito in Brazil, blat/sviazi in Russia, jaan-pehchaan in India, and guanxi in China. We utilize institutional theory to explain why favors are relied upon, and ISCT to support the argument that the use of favors in environments like the BRICs is generally considered ethical. (shrink)

This book provides a comprehensive analysis of personal data protection frameworks within the BRICS nations—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—and explores the potential for enhanced cooperation as regards the management and regulation of international data flows, amongst the increasing number of new group members. This study is particularly relevant in light of the recent BRICS commitment, enshrined in the grouping’s 2024 Declaration, aimed at jointly promoting ‘a global framework for data governance’. The ways in which this policy (...) objective can be achieved are explored in the conclusion of this volume, highlighting what concrete path might be realistically followed by the group. Drawing on the pioneering research of the CyberBRICS project, each chapter delves into the unique legislative landscapes of the member countries, highlighting significant regulatory developments such as Brazil’s General Data Protection Law (LGPD), Russia’s evolving privacy and data localization regulations, India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 and its Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture, China’s Personal Information Protection Law (PIPL), and South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). The authors examine the complexities and challenges each nation faces in harmonizing data protection with economic growth and technological innovation, while also addressing issues of national sovereignty, cybersecurity, regulatory compliance, and international coordination. A comparative analysis of the BRICS personal data architectures underscores the distinctive approaches and institutional frameworks adopted by BRICS countries and how this unusual grouping is growing, influencing an increasing number of countries with its policy and governance choices. The concluding chapter synthesizes these insights to offer concrete solutions and mechanisms for sustainable transborder data transfers and digital trade, emphasizing the importance of fostering legal interoperability and shared governance principles. By proposing model contractual clauses and strategic cooperation pathways, the book advocates for a shared BRICS stance on personal data protection, aiming to balance data subject rights with the imperatives of cybersecurity and digital sovereignty in a connected digital economy. This volume is an essential resource for policymakers, legal practitioners, and scholars interested in understanding a future where emerging economies are increasingly shaping the dynamics of data governance and digital cooperation. (shrink)

The BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) aim to achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1 (poverty eradication) and SDG 8 (sustainable economic growth), yet the moderating role of governance in artificial intelligence (AI)-poverty-growth nexus remains underexplored. Therefore, this study investigates the AI-poverty-economic growth nexus in selected BRICS-Plus countries (2012–2023), with governance as a moderating variable, using the Cross-Sectional Augmented Autoregressive Distributed Lag (CS-ARDL) technique. The results show a long-term equilibrium among variables, with unidirectional causality: (i) (...) from growth to AI, and (ii) from AI to poverty and governance quality. The findings highlight AI’s transformative potential in tackling poverty and governance issues, with economic growth enabling AI advancements. This underscores the critical need to integrate AI within governance frameworks to address development challenges effectively. The short-run CS-ARDL results for the growth model indicate that AI and governance boost growth, though their interaction diminishes AI's impact. In the long-run, both sustain growth, with stricter governance moderating AI's potential. For the poverty model, AI increases poverty in the short-run, while governance reduces poverty by improving resource allocation and mitigating AI's impacts. The interaction between AI and governance highlights their role in moderating AI’s adverse effects. In the long-run, AI modestly worsens poverty, while governance alleviates poverty by promoting growth and redistributing AI-driven gains. The policy implications stress improving governance to balance AI’s economic benefits and mitigate poverty, emphasizing equitable resource allocation to harness AI’s potential for sustainable growth. (shrink)

L’élargissement des BRICS+ à des États africains nourrit l’espoir d’un rôle plus affirmé du continent dans l’ordre international et d’une alternative aux partenariats occidentaux. Les pays africains y voient avant tout des opportunités économiques et des sources de financement moins contraignantes. Toutefois, malgré un discours critique de l’ordre mondial, les BRICS+ demeurent largement ancrés dans une logique néolibérale. Les ambiguïtés du groupe en matière de démocratie et de droits humains en affaiblissent la crédibilité. Enfin, les rivalités africaines internes (...) risquent de transformer cette dynamique en une illusion stratégique plutôt qu’en un véritable levier de changement. (shrink)

Cet article analyse l’émergence d’une politique juridique extérieure des pays du groupe BRICS+ dans le domaine du droit international de l’environnement et du climat. Il soutient que, loin de chercher à établir un ordre juridique alternatif, les BRICS+ privilégient une stratégie d’appropriation et de réinterprétation sélective du droit international existant, afin de mettre en avant les inégalités structurelles de la gouvernance mondiale et de promouvoir une lecture du multilatéralisme plus attentive aux intérêts du « Sud global ». Cette (...) politique se manifeste par des prises de position communes, des initiatives institutionnelles et des mécanismes de coopération concrets, notamment en matière de financement climatique, de commerce durable et de marchés carbone. Il existe toutefois des limites à cette dynamique, dues aux profondes divergences internes entre les États membres quant à leurs trajectoires énergétiques et à leurs niveaux d’ambition climatique. L’influence des BRICS+ sur l’évolution de l’ordre juridique international dépendra de leur capacité à transformer ces convergences partielles en une action normative cohérente dans un système international profondément fragmenté. (shrink)

This chapter provides a trite summary of the salient international, regional and domestic human rights provisions pertinent to sustainable housing. The next chapter discusses policy and strategy frameworks for sustainable housing development in the BRICS nations. Policy considerations give way to law; hence both chapters should be read together. This chapter focuses on the international, regional and domestic legal frameworks for housing, citing various human rights treaties with specific reference to housing and related matters within the extended BRICS (...) family. Several countries expressed an interest in joining the BRICS, including the USA, however, the BRICS founding nations, namely Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa chose to extend invitations to particular nations known as the BRICS Plus Nations (BPNs) with which they found alignment. As of the 2023 Johannesburg Summit, the BRICS extended invitations to State Parties that expressed an interest in joining the regional entity, namely Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, the UAE and Saudi Arabia (BPNs). Accordingly, the chapter also addresses the BPNs international, regional and domestic housing legislation. At the outset, it must be stated that some world nations do not ratify human rights treatiesHuman rights treaties because they do not necessarily agree with the ethos and spirit of particular contents. With the BPNs, Ethiopia and Egypt are situated on the African continent while Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are on the Asian continent. As such, the African and Asian regional human rights treaties, where applicable to the BPNs, are also addressed. (shrink)

The motivation of the study is to explore the nexus tourism-led sustainable human capital development in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa for the period 1984–2019. The study applied several econometrical techniques for exposing the empirical association between tourism and HCD, such as the conventional and structural break unit root test, the combined cointegration test, long-run and short-run coefficients detected through implementing the Augmented Autoregressive Distributed Lagged, and directional causality by following Toda-Yamamoto with Fourier function. The unit-roots test established (...) variables are integrated in mixed order, wherein variables are stationary at a level or after the first difference. The estimated test statistics from the combined cointegration test and AARDL confirmed the long-run association between tourism, gross capital formation, financial development, and HCD. Tourism revealed a positive and statistically significant tie with HCD in the long run. Moreover, the joint effects of interactive terms TOR*GCF and TOR*FD established a positive and statistically significant relationship with HCD. In addition, the causality test revealed the feedback hypothesis available between tourism and HCD in all sample countries except India. In conclusion, the role of tourism development is critically important for sustainable HCD in BRICS. Therefore, in case of a policymaking concern, it is inevitable to address the tourism issues with care for capitalizing on the benefits for tourism development. (shrink)

As the global population continues to grow, over half of the world’s people now reside in urban areas. Extreme poverty is often concentrated in urban areas, with 828 million individuals currently living in slums, primarily in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia. The BRICS + nations, characterized by large populations and rapid urbanization, face significant challenges in providing adequate housing. India and Brazil, for example, have approximately 65 million (5% of the population) and 16 million (8% of the population) slum dwellers, (...) respectively. Addressing slum conditions and developing sustainable housing is a critical issue for these nations. According to SDG 11, ensuring cities are safe and sustainable includes providing access to safe and affordable housing and upgrading slum settlements by 2030. This study investigates why a significant number of people continue to live in slums despite government efforts to develop and subsidize sustainable housing projects. It identifies the institutional challenges faced by governments in Brazil, India, and Egypt. The findings reveal that sustainable social housing necessitates collaborative action across various national sectors, such as the economy, livelihoods, and transportation, and requires significant cooperation with the private sector and international organizations for financial and community assistance. (shrink)

Green management emerges as a pivotal strategy for sustainable development. This approach integrates environmental sustainability into organizational practices, aiming to reduce non-ecological impact while enhancing operational efficiency. This study explores how the general public’s growing interest in EmFi is reshaping financial services and influencing the creation of digital ecosystems across various industries and organizations. The risks of EmFi and AI, including cybersecurity, data privacy and regulatory compliance are highlighted by the study while it also stresses on how technological progress must (...) go hand in glove with green management practices. In the current scenario, AI has emerged as a critical driver of corporate value and strategy in this digital age. By enhancing business operations, decision-making processes, and customer interactions, AI is providing companies with competitive advantage and boosting financial performance in green waste management. The integration of AI into financial services, especially through EmFi, enables firms to optimize resource allocation, forecast market trends, and innovate more efficiently. Our research highlights the junction between Embedded Finance and Green Waste Management initiatives via AI during Bharat’s BRICS economic trajectory. It further provides practical recommendations for companies to navigate this evolving landscape, emphasizing the importance of AI literacy, innovation, and strong governance structures to manage both risks and opportunities effectively for Viksit Bharat (Developed Nation). (shrink)

À partir d’un événement organisé par l’agence de presse Sputnik Brasil en amont du sommet des BRICS+ à Rio de Janeiro de 2025, cet article examine les imaginaires politiques, les convergences idéologiques et les tensions internes qui traversent aujourd’hui le projet BRICS+. Il montre comment des registres discursifs hétérogènes – développementisme, anti-occidentalisme, récits civilisationnels autoritaires et imaginaires conspirationnistes – se recomposent autour d’une promesse multipolaire largement indéterminée, principalement portée par la Russie et la Chine. L’article interroge l’opposition entre (...) « Occident » et « Sud global » qu’il analyse comme une construction réductrice masquant une crise globale de la démocratie. Il analyse enfin la place spécifique du Brésil et de Lula, non comme promoteurs d’une multipolarité démocratique, mais comme acteurs de légitimation symbolique d’un ensemble dominé par des régimes autoritaires, dont les ambitions géopolitiques, monétaires et institutionnelles demeurent largement déconnectées des conditions politiques et sociales qu’elles revendiquent. (shrink)

This chapter aims at introducing the emerging data architectures of the BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa). It stems from the research elaborated by the CyberBRICS project, which is the first and only initiative dedicated to the analysis of the digital policies in the BRICS countries. The chapter notes that, while not renowned for their commitment to data privacy, all BRICS countries have undertaken major regulatory developments regarding data protection in recent years, elaborating new (...) legislation, updating existing laws or establishing new regulatory agencies, while also introducing innovative institutional and normative elements in their frameworks. The chapter provides a useful contextualization of the BRICS and their efforts to cooperate on digital issues, stressing a tendency towards coordination, convergence, and ‘legal interoperability’ of several aspects of their digital policies. Such context is essential to understanding how BRICS countries are shaping their data protection frameworks, to what extent they are innovating, and to what extent their approaches can have international impact. These latter points are analysed in detail in this volume. Lastly, this chapter argues that BRICS may seize the opportunity to further enhance their cooperation on data protection, considering the increasing convergence and compatibility of their data architectures, implementing the recent BRICS commitment, enshrined in the grouping’s 2024 Declaration, aimed at jointly promoting ‘a global framework for data governance’. The ways in which this policy objective can be achieved are explored in the conclusion of this volume, highlighting what concrete path might realistically be followed by the BRICS countries. (shrink)

According to modern organizational theory, the growth of companies in developing nations is due to the coming together of public and private sector interorganizational networks and globalization. Within an open system and a very dynamic environment, a corporation cannot work autonomously. Here are the objectives of the study: The goals of this research are threefold: first, to learn how Thai SMEs expanded into BRICS countries; second, to find out what kinds of inter-organizational networks Thai SMEs relied on when going (...) global; and third, to give some advice to Thai SMEs that want to expand internationally in BRICS and to the Thai government on how to set up management networks that help with investment and internationalization. Documentary analysis of the database from the office of small and medium enterprise promotion and in-depth interviews were among the qualitative approaches employed in this study. This study examined 76 individuals from Thailand who were considered significant informants due to their extensive understanding of developing markets, namely those in the BRICS countries. A total of 63 executives responsible for overseeing their businesses' activities in the BRICS nations, together with 10 operational officers and 3 government officials, were chosen as key informants. In order to get trustworthy information for this study, the researcher used the triangulation method. Executives and government officials with operational responsibilities inside government agencies were interviewed in-depth, and their data was cross-referenced with that from pertinent papers. Thai SMEs were affected by the BRICS countries' political, legal, and socio-cultural frameworks, according to the study. Companies in the BRICS countries went global for three main reasons: to tap into untapped markets, to boost operational efficiency, and to secure access to critical resources. For Thai SMEs looking to grow their business in BRICS nations, the following factors were crucial to their success: 1) The network between different organizations; 2) the capacity to adjust to political and legal changes in BRICS countries; 3) non-formal ties; 4) the capability of local employees; 5) the appropriateness of the entrance method approach; and 6) knowledge gained from past mistakes. (shrink)

Die Ukraine verteidigt sich seit dem 24. Februar 2022 gegen den russischen Aggressor und wird seitdem von der westlichen Welt finanziell und materiell unterstützt. Doch was ist mit den anderen globalen wie regionalen Akteuren jenseits der westlichen dominierten Ordnung? Dieser Artikel beleuchtet den Standpunkt der BRICS-Staaten zum Krieg in der Ukraine. Darüber hinaus wird das besondere russisch-chinesische Verhältnis betrachtet und abschließend der Blick auf weitere Staaten jenseits der BRICS und ihrer Standpunkte gerichtet.

The main causes of climate change and global warming are human activities and are primarily due to burning or combustion. Due to the development and improvement of the Industrial Revolution, the burning of fossil fuels has increased carbon emissions. It is one of the main challenges of climate change and global warming in the economic world. The main objective of this study is to examine climate change and its impact on carbon emission and energy factors in BRICS countries for (...) the period of 20 years from 2003 to 2022. The study tests the relationship between carbon emission, GDP, and energy factors with the tools used for applied econometric analysis of Granger causality between all variables. Variables of Energy Use, Electric Power Consumption, Access to Electricity, and Renewable Energy Consumption are considered energy factors. The empirical results show that increasing GDP reduces carbon emissions to a low-carbon economy in the long run. The traditional relationship between per capita CO2 emissions and per capita GDP. Both indicators appear to have increased from 1990 to 2008, after which CO2 emissions began to decline in line with the global economic crisis, while GDP per capita continued to rise (Jambor and Balogh, Determinants of CO2 emission: A global evidence, 2018). As a policy implication, developed countries agree to provide finance to developing countries should increase the technology and infrastructure for adaptation and a new renewable energy-based economy. (shrink)

The article presents an analytical review of the section “The Future of Education, Mindset and Skillset” of the VIII BRICS Young Scientists Forum (31 July — 2 August 2023, Gkeberha, South Africa). The programme of this Forum section includes such sub-themes as application of new and convergent technologies in education, new educational tools for overcoming local socio-economic barriers, as well as leadership and entrepreneurial thinking for navigating the ever-changing future. The Forum in general and this section in particular brought (...) together young scientists from five countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) representing both technical and humanitarian scientific fields. The author identifies three key markers in the reports on the education made by young scientists from the BRICS countries and provides their philosophical and anthropological understanding. (shrink)

This book serves as a comprehensive examination of the challenges and best practices encompassing access to adequate housing in BRICS+ nations. It provides insights into the initiatives that can empower BRICS+ countries to build resilient, inclusive, sustainable cities and communities for the future, relevant to the UN SDG 11. The book is written in a non-technical style in order to be accessible to various actors including non-specialists. In addition, it takes into account perspectives from various stakeholders, including governments, (...) NGOs, academic institutions, financial institutions and citizens. It consults international frameworks and standards for housing, including treaties, declarations, and conventions on the right to housing. With this, it also provides solutions to creating sustainable cities to realise SDG11 and thereby dignify communities with adequate housing. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to describe and analyze people's confidence in political institutions in the so-called BRICS countries, that is, Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. I argue that the quality of macroeconomic indicators cannot explain the variation in political confidence between the five most dynamic new emerging economies, and that there is no substantial difference among the young, middle-aged, and senior-aged groups. By combing data from the Asia Barometer Survey and the World Value Survey, I (...) provide two complementary approaches, one sociocultural and the other micropolitical, to reveal the factors that influence people's confidence in four major political institutions. The explanatory effects of these two approaches are mixed. Political identity and values, in most cases, have a significant impact on political confidence. On the other hand, high levels of interpersonal social trust, individual happiness, and satisfaction with living standards also show positive influences. (shrink)

Papers presented at the 4th BRICS Academic Forum held in New Delhi on March 5-6, 2012.

This concluding chapter focuses on the possibilities for BRICS countries to cooperate regarding personal data flows, trying to understand which types of mechanisms would be more suitable to foster sustainable transborder data exchanges, digital trade, and cooperation, while guaranteeing that data subjects rights are respected, and the full enforcement of cybersecurity. The elements of convergences and divergences in the BRICS frameworks regulating data transfers reveal idiosyncrasies of each country’s jurisdiction and approach to personal data regulation. Even where the (...) rules converge amongst BRICS countries, it is interesting to observe the small differences that exist, which point to the juridical specificities of each system and the often-heterogeneous manners for implementing similar normative prescriptions through regulatory techniques. This chapter provides an overview of the main regulatory strategies adopted by the BRICS countries to frame international data transfers, comparing these approaches to subsequently identify what could be the most promising path for cooperation in data governance within the grouping. The chapter also considers the data protection frameworks recently adopted by the “new” BRICS members ie Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Iran. Lastly, the chapter proposes some concrete guidance regarding how such cooperation could be enacted by the BRICS grouping, leveraging the existing venues to enhance their digital cooperation. Importantly, it emphasizes that the basis for such cooperation could be leveraged to align the BRICS position on how to foster a ‘global framework for data governance’, which was defined as a shared objective by the 2024 BRICS Declaration. In this perspective, this chapter proposes a set of shared principles that can be seen as the conceptual basis of both BRICS and global data governance frameworks, and provides a concrete proposal of Model Contractual Clauses for Data Transfers in the BRICS countries. (shrink)

The global economy’s centre of gravity is shifting. Emerging and developing countries have been contributing over 50% of the global GDP since the.

The purpose of the study is to determine the relationship between the economic well-being of countries and their openness to external markets. The scientific novelty consists in the comparison of two groups of countries with different characteristics and identifying specific patterns of the impact of selected macroeconomic factors on GDP. The article presents an econometric analysis and contains regression equations for each state. Interpretation of the coefficients of the derived models makes it possible to estimate changes in GDP with the (...) change of indicators. As a result, it was revealed that export is the most stable and strongly influencing the economy of all countries macroeconomic factor, and the strength of influence depends on the level of development of the country. The stability of GDP in developing countries is largely achieved through the regulation of internal factors, and in developed countries through exports regulation. (shrink)

The dollar‑centric financial order entrenches asymmetry, externalises ecological costs, and records defensive load as growth. This paper proposes a counter‑model: a Global Commonwealth built on four structural invariants — Visibility, Symmetry, Contestability, and Repair — extended to the planetary scale. At its core is a Neutral Clearing Union with a Bancor unit of account, whose exchange rates are determined not by speculation but by each nation's value efficiency (nF/TPE), measured through Durable Flourishing Indices (DFIs). Surpluses trigger automatic demurrage, reinvested into (...) repair. New Bancors are minted only when defensive load decreases, aligning currency creation with flourishing. The Five Articles of Perpetual Commonwealth articulate reciprocity, law, visibility, dialogue, and repair as functional prerequisites for trust among nations. For BRICS and the Global South, this architecture offers a cooperative alternative to IMF conditionality and neoliberal austerity: debt denominated in flourishing, not dollars. The paper outlines institutional prototypes — Moralogy Institute, Court of Repair, Neutral Clearing Union — and sketches pathways for pilot implementation within BRICS+ frameworks. -/- . (shrink)

O mundo contemporâneo atravessa uma fase de transformação sistêmica caracterizada pela interconexão de múltiplas crises que configuram uma “policrise” global. Fenômenos como as mudanças climáticas, a degradação ambiental, as tensões geopolíticas, as crises energéticas e migratórias, a fragmentação econômica e a aceleração tecnológica evidenciam o esgotamento progressivo da ordem internacional liberal. A crescente instabilidade da ordem internacional foi intensificada por conflitos recentes, pelo enfraquecimento do multilateralismo e pela erosão da hegemonia dos Estados Unidos em um contexto de transição para um (...) mundo multipolar ou “multiplex”. Paralelamente, emergem novas formas de governança e cooperação, especialmente por meio do bloco BRICS+, que reflete a demanda do Sul Global por maior representação, bem como a busca por modelos alternativos de desenvolvimento. Esse processo não implica apenas uma redistribuição do poder, mas também uma transformação epistemológica e normativa da ordem mundial, na qual coexistem múltiplas racionalidades políticas e culturais. Esta introdução analisa a transição atual como uma mudança estrutural profunda que redefine as bases da ordem internacional contemporânea. (shrink)

This study focuses on comparison of perceptions of ethical business cultures in large business organizations from four largest emerging economies, commonly referred to as the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India, and China), and from the US. The data were collected from more than 13,000 managers and employees of business organizations in five countries. The study found significant differences among BRIC countries, with respondents from India and Brazil providing more favorable assessments of ethical cultures of their organizations than respondents from China (...) and Russia. Overall, highest mean scores were provided by respondents from India, the US, and Brazil. There were significant similarities in ratings between the US and Brazil. (shrink)

This chapter laments that the Responsibility to Protect has become nothing more than ‘a largely ineffective empty signifier’: it may have found its way into state discourse, but it has not meaningfully influenced state behaviour. This is the result of R2P having been ‘co-opted’ over time: parties hostile to the norm have publicly endorsed it, but worked to redirect and manipulate its evolution so that the norm has come to serve their interests and values. Hehir argues that the BRICS (...) countries, and especially Russia, have succeeded in almost entirely expunging Pillar III; the part of the R2P doctrine that calls on the international community to intervene and protect human rights where sovereign states cannot or will not. Without Pillar III, however, we are left with a rendering of R2P that makes no provisions for its actual enforcement. All we have is another high-sounding rhetorical device. (shrink)

The BRICS+ countriesBRICS+ countries are experiencing rapid urbanizationUrbanization/Urbanisation, leading to a significant increase in housing demandHousing demand. However, the existing housing stockHousing stock in these countries is often inadequate, and the majority of the population lives in informal settlementsInformal settlementor substandard housingSubstandard housing. Thus, sustainable social housingSustainable social housing development is crucial to address this issue, but it faces numerous challenges, including inadequate funding, environmental and legal issues, and access to technological innovations.

A new international currency faces a foundational problem: how to distribute the initial supply fairly. Existing proposals (Keynes’s bancor, Special Drawing Rights, BRICS reserve currencies) rely on GDP‑weighted quotas or political bargaining – both of which entrench existing asymmetries. This paper proposes a radical alternative: the Bancor is launched on a per‑capita basis, giving every human life equal representation in the initial currency pool. The value of the Bancor is anchored to a global baseline of value efficiency (F/TPE), measured (...) by the Durable Flourishing Indices. After launch, new Bancors are minted only when global defensive load decreases – through ecological restoration, demilitarisation, or social repair (repair‑minting). Persistent trade surpluses trigger automatic demurrage, redirecting funds into a Global Repair Fund. Nations can strengthen their currency only by raising domestic F/TPE – i.e., by converting resources into flourishing lives more efficiently. The paper outlines an audit framework to ensure repair‑minting is visible, symmetric, contestable, and repairable; a pilot pathway with a concrete timeline; and a strategic contrast between the Bancor’s repair‑logic and the dollar’s debt‑logic. The system can be implemented by a coalition of willing nations (BRICS+, Global South) without requiring Western consent. (shrink)

India is gradually changing its course from decades of inward-looking economics and strong anti-Western foreign policies. It has become more pragmatic, seeing important economic benefits from globalization, and some political benefits of working with the United States to achieve New Delhi's great-power aspirations. Despite these changes, I argue that India's deep-seated anti-colonial nationalism and commitment to strategic autonomy continues to form the core of Indian identity. This makes India's commitment to Western-dominated multilateral institutions and Western norms, such as humanitarian intervention, (...) partial and instrumental. Thus, while Indian foreign-policy discourse shows little sign of seeking to fully challenge the U.S.-led international order beyond largely reformist measures of building parallel institutions such as the New Development Bank, India will continue to strongly resist Western actions that weaken sovereignty norms. (shrink)

A teacher–student dynamic has long shaped the West’s approach to business ethics, one relying on Eurocentric moral frameworks to instruct non-Western cultures. This approach presumes the superiority of Eurocentric concepts but is fraying badly. New realities, especially the Global South’s growing military and commercial power, epitomized by BRICS and the SCA (Shanghai Cooperation Organization), have fueled a return to indigenous cultural roots. For business, the impact is profound, with Asian companies demonstrating the financial power of their indigenous moral systems (...) even as resistance to the Western politicization of human rights grows. Meanwhile, efforts at decolonization have fallen short, aggravating resistance to a simple diet of Western moral concepts. It is time to acknowledge that the teacher–student dynamic is long past its prime. This dynamic undermines moral autonomy, a core principle of Western ethics, while disparaging the ability of non-Western moral systems to express foundational moral truths. Evidence shows that ethics, and with it, ethical reform, thrives best when planted in native soil. Indigenous frameworks frequently achieve better results that Western transplants when used for both institutional reform and business success. (shrink)

Attentive to the demands of the present time, this qualitative, interpretative study aims to reflect on the decolonization of the zone of non-being through language, taking as an example the issue of ethnic-racial relations in the case of the teaching of Brazilian Portuguese [BP] at this historical moment in which BRICS and the Global South emerge on the horizon as means of dismantling the colonialities that sustain the old world order with its abyssal line and its zone of non-being. (...) This research is theoretically anchored in Fanonian-inspired Decolonial Linguistics, also taking into account the epistemologies of crossroads transplanted to these other shores of the South Atlantic as a result of the slave trade sponsored by the European colonial-mercantile enterprise, in addition to revisiting the discussion on language, identity, citizenship, and nationality, carried out by Derrida in The Monolingualism of the Other (1996). Thus, this reflective undertaking aims to contribute to this alternative Linguistics that addresses the geopolitical demands of the Global South, especially those related to a new linguistic education capable of dealing with the issue of ethnic-racial relations involving the dimension of language use in our decolonizing societies. (shrink)

Attentive to the demands of the present time, this qualitative, interpretative study aims to reflect on the decolonization of the zone of non-being through language, taking as an example the issue of ethnic-racial relations in the case of the teaching of Brazilian Portuguese [BP] at this historical moment in which BRICS and the Global South emerge on the horizon as means of dismantling the colonialities that sustain the old world order with its abyssal line and its zone of non-being. (...) This research is theoretically anchored in Fanonian-inspired Decolonial Linguistics, also taking into account the epistemologies of crossroads transplanted to these other shores of the South Atlantic as a result of the slave trade sponsored by the European colonial-mercantile enterprise, in addition to revisiting the discussion on language, identity, citizenship, and nationality, carried out by Derrida in The Monolingualism of the Other (1996). Thus, this reflective undertaking aims to contribute to this alternative Linguistics that addresses the geopolitical demands of the Global South, especially those related to a new linguistic education capable of dealing with the issue of ethnic-racial relations involving the dimension of language use in our decolonizing societies. (shrink)

Recent studies :98–144, 2002; Weismann, J Bus Ethics 88:615–66, 2009) revealed that in the first 28 years of its existence, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act was not enforced by the federal government. The Weismann study further concluded that the FCPA, designed by Congress as a self-regulatory model of corporate governance, failed to achieve the regulatory goal of deterring global bribery by U.S. companies. The current article addresses the reasons that the FCPA remains an ineffective measure to control bribery as a (...) global market entry strategy despite the highly publicized 2006 Department of Justice initiative to increase prosecutions and tighten enforcement efforts. The failure arises out of both the increased use of informal dispositions of case prosecutions,, which has made “getting caught” merely an increased “cost of doing business” and the failure to close the regulatory gaps in the statute that permit violators to slip through the enforcement net. The article updates and compiles the case prosecution data for every reported case prosecuted between 1977 and 2011. That data are then compared to the results of a 2010 integrity risk survey performed by Deloitte Financial Advisory Services and Forbes which reveal a widely held global business perception that compliance and integrity risks appear to be rising sharply and that the FCPA is ineffective in deterring bribery and corruption in foreign markets. The article aims to serve as a predictive tool for policy makers and business professionals in assessing risk in the global markets, particularly as commerce intensifies in the BRIC countries, notable for bribery and corruption. (shrink)

Cet entretien analyse la « désoccidentalisation » promue par la Russie comme un outil à la fois rhétorique et stratégique, mobilisé dans un contexte de déclin relatif de l’ordre international libéral. Les BRICS+ y occupent une place centrale, offrant à Moscou des ressources de résilience économique, diplomatique et symbolique depuis l’invasion de l’Ukraine. Ils constituent moins une alternative institutionnelle cohérente qu’un cadre diplomatique flexible, permettant d’articuler partenariats économiques, influence informationnelle et coopérations sécuritaires, notamment en Afrique. La discussion montre enfin (...) que l’attractivité des BRICS+ repose sur leur capacité à capter les aspirations néo souverainistes du « Sud global » face à la délégitimation de l’« Occident collectif ». (shrink)

The study presents for the first time an attempt of analysis of sustainable smart housing practices in Moscow focusing on a city dweller position and people-centered city and peer-to-peer governance paradigm. The analysis of social, sustainable, smart housing as an urban one was made in the complex triple framework of the research: housing—urban environment—city to find general and specific characteristics of housing in a modern megacity in a developing BRICS country. Megacities as engines for a country’s economic and social (...) development, and drivers of regional urbanization are becoming the dominant model for realizing a social, sustainable, innovative society and future. In the New Reality, the multipolar world is no longer America-centric or Euro-centric; there is a growing need for the BRICS-oriented concepts, and the paper presents the main features of sustainable smart urban housing and city in the context of the BRICS countries. The results at the methodological level highlight a conceptual research framework based on the characteristics of a sustainable smart city in the social context. It is proved that the evolution of modern city and housing standards increasingly centers on the needs of the average city dweller, who should actively participate in community and city life and management. As it is found, these standards transform the vertical management model of modern city and housing, into a horizontal peer-to-peer (P2P) model that aligns with the latest U4SSC’s KPIs for Social-Cultural Sustainability in People-Centered City Governance. In BRICS countries, the analysis of sustainable smart city and housing practices in accordance with SDG 11 shows the extensive internet coverage across nearly all BRICS+ cities, but despite the high level of digitalization, cities in the study face issues with data openness, which conflicts with the horizontal peer-to-peer communication model involving all city stakeholders to the city governance. At the city level, it is found that Moscow as the object of the research presents a new standard of sustainable smart housing and living created by the social state. It provides accessible housing through social initiatives such as renovation and comprehensive territory development. Digital and smart solutions are implemented at every level of urban life and management in the framework of Smart City 2030 program. Most importantly, the city as a service enables city dwellers to become co-creators in urban planning and projects. Through digital tools, the city remains highly accessible, especially to its residents, and the decisions of citizens are put into action nearly every day. The study highlights the problems of the future of housing in a smart sustainable futuropolis because the next phase of sustainable smart urbanism and housing—whether through hyper-urbanization or de-urbanization—positions technology companies and digital platforms as key drivers in shaping sustainable and smart cities and housing. The diverse practices of sustainable smart housing observed across Moscow and BRICS cities, along with the challenges and transformations highlighted in the study, underscore the need for a BRICS-centered qualitative research, the newest KPIs and ratings that prioritize sustainable smart housing as the core element of sustainable smart urban areas, empowering active and creative citizens. (shrink)

Housing is a crucial component of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and an essential driver for achieving many Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Housing leads to direct benefits in health, education, and economic opportunities. Literature in this chapter asserts that increasing the number of new constructions positively impacts economic development, leading to job creation and increased demand for construction materials and services. The research conducted in the UAE focused on applying new technologies in housing provision and found that technology increases (...) satisfaction and sustainability in future Housing Projects. It is justified by literature that housing plays a pivotal role in ensuring sustainable development, particularly in countries like South Africa, where access to adequate housing remains a challenge. This chapter explores the economic implications of advancing technology in sustainable housing, focusing on achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through a collection of literature sourced from scholarly articles. Drawing lessons and opportunities from countries with successful sustainable housing initiatives, particularly those employing innovative brick-making technologies, will be crucial in informing strategies for advancing housing provision in South Africa. Technological advancements have revolutionized how housing is designed, constructed, and maintained. Technology offers many solutions to improve housing sustainability, from sustainable building materials to energy-efficient systems. In South Africa, where affordable housing is a pressing issue, leveraging technological innovations can enhance the quality, affordability, and accessibility of housing for all population segments. This chapter will show that BRICS countries specifically South Africa have innovative strategies to address their housing challenges amid the shortfall in the provision of affordable housing. Studying the experiences of these countries, this chapter will identify lessons and opportunities for advancing the South African sustainable housing agenda. In addition to creating jobs in the construction sector, sustainable housing initiatives stimulate demand for locally sourced materials and technologies, thereby supporting local industries and fostering economic growth. The chapter will provide guidelines on areas where local manufacturers can drive benefits and advocate for advancing technology to achieve sustainable housing goals in South Africa and contribute to realizing the SDGs. (shrink)