BRICS: from norm takers to norm makers

Abstract

Since the end of World War II, the United States and Western Europe have been influencing the definition of rules and norms in the international system, which remain today. After the Cold War, especially in the context of the financial crisis (2008), a challenging debate emerged, analyzing the structure of norms, ideas and institutions and incorporating new interlocutors, such as BRICS countries. Besides, it reinforced investigations about the construction of norms and the articulation of developing countries in this environment. We hypothesize that BRICS seeks to broaden the decision-making process. Methodologically, the postcolonial literature of International Relations (IR), together with theoretical approaches on power studies, offer a welcome opportunity to evaluate the process that motivates BRICS as a driver for altering themselves from rule taker to rule maker. Therefore, it spurs analysis on sectors such as development, finance and international organizations leading us to reflect on to what extent do the new debates corroborate a changing scenario? In so doing, the research intends to evaluate the construction of an international order in which a greater number of States can participate effectively in the formation of norms and values in the interstate system.