A Decade of Emergence

The article aims at presenting a discussion about the processes of institutionalization and the expansion of the BRICS through its eight summits. Two issue areas will be emphasised: (i) international political economy – particularly international development – and (ii) international security. The hypothesis is that the BRICS forum has passed through an institutional densification process – see the New Development Bank and the Contingent Reserve Agreement. In such a process, despite the increasing relevance of international security issues, this occurs because of the geopolitical transformation of contemporary capitalism. In such a context, there are different patterns of institutional densification directly related to the role of the BRICS in the world order.