Omonye Omoigberale, in her 2025 article “The Expanded BRICS: A Catalyst for Global Transformation or Advocate for Incremental Change?” published in the South African Journal of International Affairs, offers a timely assessment of BRICS’ evolving role in global governance following its 2023 expansion. Against the backdrop of shifting geopolitical alignments and intensifying critique of Western-led multilateralism, the article examines whether BRICS, now enlarged to include Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the UAE, functions as a vehicle for systemic transformation or primarily advances incremental reform within the existing international order.
The central argument advanced is that while BRICS rhetorically challenges the Western-dominated status quo, its internal heterogeneity and strategic ambivalence limit its capacity to serve as a cohesive transformative actor. Rather than representing a revolutionary bloc, the expanded BRICS emerges as a flexible coalition of emerging powers pursuing greater autonomy and recognition through calibrated engagement with established institutions. The bloc’s strategic posture, Omoigberale argues, is best understood as one of selective revisionism: seeking to modify, rather than dismantle, prevailing global governance structures.
The article adopts a realist theoretical lens, situating BRICS’ expansion within broader efforts to rebalance international power and reduce vulnerability to Western economic and political conditionality. Through analysis of institutional initiatives such as the New Development Bank (NDB) and the Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA), Omoigberale highlights how BRICS members have sought to build parallel frameworks that enhance their strategic autonomy while remaining embedded within the broader liberal order. The inclusion of energy-producing states such as Iran and the UAE, she suggests, strengthens the bloc’s leverage in global economic and resource governance, yet also introduces divergent priorities that complicate consensus on collective action.
One of the article’s contributions lies in its examination of the bloc’s engagement with climate governance and international law. While BRICS positions itself as a proponent of environmental justice and South–South cooperation, Omoigberale notes that internal contradictions—particularly among fossil fuel-dependent members—hinder unified policy responses. Likewise, the bloc’s invocation of sovereignty and non-interference reflects a commitment to pluralism, yet this principle is inconsistently applied, especially in the case of Russia’s actions in Ukraine.
Importantly, the article devotes attention to intra-bloc dynamics, emphasising the asymmetries between legacy members such as China and India and newer entrants with more regionalised agendas. Omoigberale underscores how these disparities, along with divergent foreign alignments, constrain BRICS’ ability to articulate a unified vision of global reform. While the expansion increases representational diversity, it also intensifies the
The challenge of internal cohesion. In conclusion, Omoigberale argues that the expanded BRICS is unlikely to drive immediate global transformation but plays a significant role in contesting established dominance frameworks and amplifying alternative voices in global forums. By advancing reformist agendas within a multipolar framework, BRICS contributes to a gradual reorientation of the international order. The article offers a balanced and measured examination of the bloc’s evolving role, shedding light on the layered approaches adopted by emerging powers navigating a complex and competitive global landscape.