ABSTRACT
This chapter outlines the motives and interests of India regarding its membership of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) and contributes to clarifying if and why BRICS may persist well into the future. It addresses questions such as: Why is India a member; what role has it played in the BRICS group; what has it achieved from its membership; and will its interest in the group persist. The chapter reviews some of the main interpretations of India’s rise. It provides the historical background in India’s foreign policy and describes the decisive turn in the international environment affecting India’s foreign policy: that of the end of the Cold War and the increasing economic globalization. The chapter deals with the emergence of the BRICS concept and its transformation into a real-life phenomenon. It also describes the political economy of India’s BRICS relationship.
