BRICS and Human Rights: Issues, Impacts, and Expansion Scenarios

The expansion of BRICS has reignited discussions around the status of human rights among member states of the group, the foundations of the group's vision on the issue, and the consistency of member states' positions towards it.This study raises the question: to what extent is expanding BRICS through the inclusion of countries with low regard for human rights consistent with the interaction of its member states on global human rights issues, as well as the nature of human rights conditions within each state?The study adopts a theoretical framework based on the concepts of cohesion and consistency.Cohesion relates to the direction of policymaking processes towards specific goals, while consistency pertains to the nature of policy outcomes, in terms of their alignment among member states.Using a content analysis methodology and examining the rhetoric of BRICS countries and their voting patterns in international structures, the study concludes that human rights issues are of low priority in the policy agendas of these states.It shows a consistency in dealing with human rights, both among member states and externally.Therefore, it is anticipated that the current low prioritisation of human rights within the group will continue without significant development, pending an assessment of the expansion experience and its outcomes on the group's outputs and the foreign policies of its member states.