South Africa in BRICS: Expectations and Reality

Abstract

The article examines the main results of South Africa’s membership in BRICS and raises the question: to what extent have the hopes regarding South Africa’s membership in this association been realized? The author analyses the relations between South Africa and other BRICS countries in two sectors: 1) trade and investment; 2) political solidarity in the international arena. He comes to the conclusion that South Africa’s accession to BRIC did not lead to a significant intensification of trade with its other members. For the largest BRICS participants — China and India — South Africa remains a supplier of raw materials and a market for finished products. South Africa’s entry into the BRIC club also did not lead to a large-scale increase in FDI flows from other member countries and did not trigger the expansion of its trade relations with Sub-Saharan Africa and the intensification of its economic penetration into the region. The BRICS countries do not present a united front on the world stage and rarely share a common stance on key international issues. Therefore, its membership in the BRICS did not bring South Africa the expected benefits and this country was unable to use the opportunities that opened up for it when joining this association.