BRICS investment agreements in Africa: More of the same?

Abstract

BRICS was constituted as a group during the global financial crisis, and was considered a Global South alternative to traditional Western powers. This article critiques the negotiations and political economy of investment agreements, in support of the position of those negatively impacted and resisting the overall loosening of trade restrictions associated with the rise of the BRICS ("BRICS from below"). The article presents an empirical overview and analysis of bilateral investment treaties (BITs), which demonstrate that, to a large extent, the BRICS BITs maintain the broader neoliberal economic order, although the locus of power might be partially shifting. It concludes that, in a broader context of capitalist accumulation, the BRICS's actions are based on a logic of competition over natural resources and market access that is imperialist in nature and is taking colonialism back to Africa in modern times.