ESSAY 5: DISCUSS THE ROLE OF THE BRICS COUNTRIES IN CRAFTING A NEW GLOBAL ORDER. IN YOUR ANSWER, CONSIDER THE SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES IN THE ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL MODELS OF THE BRICS COUNTRIES. WHAT ARE THE STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THESE MODELS?

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24 Terms

1
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What does BRICS stand for?

Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

2
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What is the primary aim of the BRICS grouping?

To modify the existing global order and create alternatives to Western-dominated systems, such as the IMF.

3
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What institution symbolises BRICS' move towards an alternative financial structure?

The New Development Bank (NDB), established in 2015, headquartered in China with a regional office in South Africa.

4
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Why is South Africa considered strategically important in BRICS?

Due to its geo-strategic location, economic influence in Africa, and role as a gateway to the African market.

5
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What is meant by South Africa "punching above its weight"?

Despite its small economic size, BRICS membership enhances South Africa's international stature and influence.

6
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What policy shift reflects South Africa's BRICS-alignment strategy?

The "Gateway to Africa" reforms, which reference BRIC countries and aim to attract investment.

7
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What characterises China’s economic model within BRICS?

A "two-level game":

  • Externally neoliberal to access markets and resources.

  • Domestically flexible with strategic bilateralism and no conditionality.

8
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How does South Africa's economic model differ?

It is marked by high inequality, reliance on a financialised Minerals-Energy Complex (MEC), and limited restructuring under globalisation.

9
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What proportion of BRICS’ economic output is accounted for by China?

Over two-thirds.

10
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How does South Africa’s economy compare to other BRICS nations?

It is the smallest in BRICS—about a quarter the size of Russia’s and comparable to one Chinese province.

11
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What are the key strengths of BRICS for South Africa?

  • Greater international visibility.

  • Platform for reforming global institutions.

  • Access to the NDB.

  • Strategic ties with China and other members.

12
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What is the advantage of BRICS over Western financial institutions?

It offers alternatives like the NDB that are seen as less conditional and more development-oriented.

13
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Why is South Africa’s BRICS membership seen as “anomalous”?

Due to its small economic size and potential vulnerability to influence from more powerful BRICS members, especially China.

14
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How can BRICS membership lead to “new dependency”?

Trade relations, especially with China, can reinforce extractive economic structures and unequal exchange, benefiting BRICS capital but not local development.

15
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What is meant by “uncertain territoriality” in the context of BRICS?

It refers to the emergence of new elite networks between BRICS states and Southern African governments that challenge traditional development paradigms and accountability.

16
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What political values unite BRICS countries?

A shared stance on state sovereignty and non-interference in domestic affairs.

17
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How has South Africa’s foreign policy shifted due to BRICS?

From an ethics-based approach to realpolitik, aligning more closely with China’s strategic interests.

18
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What tension exists within BRICS politically or economically?

Despite rhetorical unity, there’s competition for markets and influence, especially between South Africa and other African states, and among BRICS members themselves.

19
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How is China’s role in Southern Africa characterised?

As extractive—seeking raw materials and value, often reinforcing dependent economic relations.

20
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What example shows the unequal trade dynamic between China and South Africa?

It is more expensive to ship goods from China to Durban than to return raw materials from South Africa, indicating a value imbalance.

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How does China’s investment model appeal to African elites?

Due to its lack of formal political or economic conditionality, making it easier for elites to access funds.

22
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Do BRICS represent a radical challenge to the global order?

No, they aim to modify the global system rather than overturn it, often being absorbed into existing capitalist structures.

23
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What is the overall impact of BRICS on South Africa’s development model?

Limited. While politically empowering, BRICS relations often reinforce existing inequalities and fail to restructure South Africa’s economy fundamentally.

24
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What differentiates how individual BRICS countries view the grouping?

Their economic size, strategic interests, and goals mean that BRICS has varying levels of importance and influence across member states.