Russian Power Revival, BRICS+, and the Global South

Abstract Russian leaders, guided by what the authors term a “Russian National Idea” directed toward Russia’s political-economic security rejuvenation, have shifted their country’s foreign-security policy focus from the North Atlantic and Europe to the Global South as Russia reclaims a leadership position in the global power system. Using a mix of often-interconnected bilateral treaties and membership in Global South international organizations, Russia relies on economic, energy, infrastructural, and military arrangements in deepening its ties with dozens of Global South countries. Russia’s returning global influence can be observed in the BRICS+, the most important multilateral organization through which Russia operates. Many Western observers are skeptical of the influence of BRICS+, and that skepticism is often tied with BRICS+ organizational rules that differ from those of Western-led intergovernmental organizations. With seventeen summits to date, an expanding membership, and effective operational rules, BRICS+ has experienced deliberative and consequential institution building, agenda setting, and collective policymaking. The summed value of BRICS+ members’ domestic economies surpasses that of the G7, with Russia taking the lead in promoting BRICS+ expansion, further institutionalization, and actionable policies. Russia, long a champion of Global South interests vis-à-vis the dominant West, and BRICS+, the most important multilateral vessel through which the interests and grievances of Global South nations are expressed, merit serious attention. Both Russia and BRICS+ should be considered core to the emergence of a multipolar global system that better balances Western and Global South interests.