ABSTRACT
In this paper we examine the BRICS (Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa) bloc's stated commitment to collective, inclusive development through the creation of the civil society participatory mechanism Civil BRICS. This state-created civil society platform within the bloc purports to shape BRICS policies in favour of the poor. We argue that after a decade of BRICS co-operation, it should be possible to observe policy shifts towards 'çollective' solutions to address endemic socio-economic inequalities in BRICS. Sketched against a backdrop of the realities of BRICS' exploitative bilateral trade and investment flows, we examine the scaling up of affected communities' social justice claims to Summit level. In 2018, for the first time, International Non-Governmental (INGOs) and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) initiated a process of BRICS civil society engagement that is unique in the direct representation of affected communities. According to the INGOS and NGOs involved, this direct upscaling of activist and social movement representation strengthens and legitimises policy recommendations to the BRICS Summit. Our analysis shows that, to the contrary, affected communities' inclusion in annual BRICS development dialogues allows for minimal effective input. Activism inside and outside of co-opted participatory spaces (referred to as jam making versus tree shaking) are discussed in terms of strategic effectiveness.
