BRICS expansion: new geographies and spheres of cooperation. Editorial for special Issue

Abstract

Starting from January 1, 2024 the ranks of the BRICS grouping expanded to include new regional powers from the Global South. The paper aims to explore the implications of the new composition of the BRICS grouping for the vectors of its economic cooperation. The conclusion reached in the paper is that the widening of the ranks of the BRICS raises the importance of coordinating policies in the economic sphere, macroeconomic policy specifically, with particular attention to reforming the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (BRICS CRA). To estimate the prospects of the BRICS development after the expansion is to assist the group’s financial institutions, including the New Development Bank and the BRICS CRA, in the creation of a diversified array of policy instruments aimed at providing support for economic development of the expanded BRICS association members.