brics

How are the BRICS nations changing the practice and players in international development? 

[I]nvesting is now global – and policy decisions made by individual nations have significant consequences. As government leaders seek to attract capital, they need to think about themselves in a new way: as brands. [...] Countries can no longer afford to operate in isolation, unconcerned with establishing and growing international business relations. 

To understand soft power with Chinese characteristics, we must think of two key concepts in international relations of the Asian giant – peaceful development and a harmonious world. [...] Development as a clear gamble to consolidate its role of a power without threatening the role of any other, especially of United States, in a logic of non-confrontation, although it will extend its influence in Africa, Asia and Latin America. 

Russia and China in particular have been making efforts to develop their global media reach in recent years, frequently with investments in English-language media, but this is a new step; the BRICS as a group now see the promotion of their perspectives as a crucial element of their public diplomacy and development of soft power — and they see it as a joint venture.

Currently, multi-polarity is emerging as a new world order due to the growing influence of state and non-state actors at national, regional and international level. [...] Therefore, West is viewing BRICS as a competitor to its status-quo. The yardstick on which west is gauging BRICS as a threat is composed of both power factors; Hard Power and Soft power.

This article unpacks Turkey’s transition from being a historically status-quo nation to that of a proactive international player, using as examples the recent formation of a middle power alliance with Mexico, Indonesia, Korea and Australia (MIKTA), an emphasis on religion as an “explicitly recognized factor of influence on foreign policy,” and economic cooperation with developing countries such as Somalia, Sudan, Syria and the former Soviet Republics in Central Asia and the Caucasus. 

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