South Africa's Induction into the "BRIC" Economic Group
Open Access
Author:
Zakaria, Suzanne
Area of Honors:
International Politics
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Subhanan Mukherjee, Thesis Supervisor Dr. Michael Barth Berkman, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
BRICS South Africa Minerals Development Cooperation
Abstract:
The rise of non-Western powers has preoccupied the West for several decades. A paradigm of a world without the West, which depends on developing world connectivity, has begun to take shape with the economic bloc called “BRICS”, which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa. The group’s inception stems from 2001, though only includes South Africa as of 2010. This thesis will examine the economic and political reasons behind South Africa’s absorption into the-then BRIC. It will draw upon theories of international institutionalism and development cooperation among post-colonial nations. Specifically, it will explore the BRICS Fifth Summit claim that mineral resources were a primary reason that South Africa was selected to join BRIC.
