Analytical Centers as an Element of BRICS "Soft Power" in Latin America

Kleshchenko Liudmila Leonidovna ORCID: 0000-0002-4172-6583 PhD in Politics Senior lecturer, Department of Political Science, The Herzen State Pedagogical University of Russia 191186, Russia, g. Saint Petersburg, nab. R. Moiki, 48, korp. 20, kab. 201 ludmila.popova2011@yandex.ru Other publications by this author

In the period of restructuring the system of international relations based on the principles of multipolarity, the relevance of studying multilateral institutions, which in the future can form the basis of a new world order, is increasing. One of these institutions is the BRICS, an association of the world's largest developing economies. The BRICS countries currently include Brazil, Russia, India, China, and the Republic of South Africa. Meanwhile, the prospects for the expansion of BRICS are of interest both among researchers ^{[1, 2]} and in the media ^[3]. After the XIV BRICS summit held in June 2022, two countries — Argentina and Iran - applied for membership in this association. The prospects for the expansion of the BRICS due to the entry of new participants depend, among other things, on the image of this institution, which necessitates the study of the policy of "soft power" of the BRICS and its results.

The positioning of the BRICS group countries was initially built around the idea of economic growth, the locomotive of which was the BRICS countries during the "golden decade". As the unification develops, positioning as an alternative to the unipolar world led by the United States comes to the fore, as well as anti-colonial rhetoric, commitment to the ideas of building a fairer, polycentric system of international relations, which makes the image of BRICS attractive to developing countries. A number of studies have been devoted to the problem of the image of the BRICS and the policy of "soft power" of the BRICS ^{[4, 5]}. There are also works whose subject is the image of the BRICS in various regions of the world ^[6]. The activities of BRICS, the history of unification, theoretical approaches to the interpretation of BRICS are studied by political scientists, economists, lawyers. At the same time, the image of the BRICS in Latin America, the policy of "soft power" of the BRICS and its component, such as the activities of analytical centers in Latin America, remain a little-studied issue, which determines the relevance of this study.

In the terminology of the American political scientist J. Naya, Jr., "soft power" is a form of political power that presupposes the ability of someone to achieve the desired results from someone on the basis of voluntary participation, sympathy and attractiveness ^{[7, P. 31]}. It is the "soft power" that the researcher assigns a decisive role in modern world politics. The components of "soft power" can be educational and scientific activities, popularization of language and culture, values and institutions, environmental safety, consumer preferences (originally J. Nye considered only three components: political values, culture and foreign policy). With the help of these elements, a positive image of the state (or another actor in world politics) is created, which determines its ability to shape the agenda in the international arena.

J. Nye was critical of the policy of "soft power" of Russia and China ^[8]. He saw the reasons for this in the fact that the most effective tool of "soft power" is not the state, but civil society. It should be noted that the author himself made the "soft power" of the United States the subject of his study, later the term began to be applied to other states. In states with a democratic regime, "soft power" is more effective due to the greater importance of public opinion ^{[9, p. 22]}.

Existing international studies of "soft power" include the following parameters of this phenomenon: digitalization (digital diplomacy), culture (attractiveness of cultural achievements), economics (attractiveness of the economic model and ease of doing business), education (attractiveness for foreign students), engagement (involvement in global interactions), the quality of political institutions ^[10]. In modern political science, the "soft power" of a particular state is more often studied. At the same time, the tools of "soft power" can be used by other participants in international relations.

International meetings in the BRIC format, which began in 2006, were held as part of four countries, in 2010 South Africa joined the association and its modern name was formed. The competence of the BRICS and the range of issues discussed at the meetings of the association is extremely wide and includes various aspects of existing global problems.

According to the researchers, among the instruments of soft power, BRICS prefers financial and cultural, including education systems and the church ^{[11, p. 60]}. Among the significant symbols that increase the attractiveness of BRICS, they also highlight the history of the creation of the association (the abbreviation BRIC was first used in the media), criticism of Westernized globalization, membership of member countries to different civilizations, the desire to get away from the dictate of the dollar (the symbol of American hegemony) in international settlements ^{[5, p. 512]}.

An important role in the positioning of the BRICS is played by the topic of combating global problems, including international financial and economic crises. At BRICS Summits, the idea of the unfairness/insufficiency of existing international financial institutions, their inability to counteract crises, is often voiced. Alternative financial institutions (the New BRICS Development Bank) were created within the framework of BRICS. The activities of the BRICS Development Bank are covered in Latin American media ^[12], as well as reflected in scientific publications ^[13].

One of the BRICS soft power institutes in Latin America is the analytical center "BRICS Research and Development Center" (Centro de Estudos e Pesquisas BRICS), created at the Institute of International Relations at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio) in cooperation with the Pereira Passos Institute (IPP). The Center sees its mission in studying the BRICS countries, characterized by great diversity, in order to overcome obstacles to joint action. The subject of research at the Center is global problems and their consequences for the countries of the Global South, including research programs in the following areas:

·         The study of the BRICS proper (the reasons for the creation of the association, its history, documents, politics, economy and society of the BRICS countries);

· Urban studies (both cities of the BRICS countries and the Global South as a whole): investment attractiveness of cities, urban self-government, sustainable development, the problem of inequality in cities;

· The Global South Mediation Group, specializing in the study of conflicts in the Global South: peace negotiations, mediation, peacemaking in modern conflicts are the focus of this direction;

· Innovation and management of development programs, a direction that includes the study of the impact of scientific and technological development on international production and the world economy, the ability of STP to counteract asymmetry in this area;

· Laboratory of Financing and International Cooperation for Development: the subject of study is the political and economic factors that determine the policy in the field of development of the Global South, including the intensification of relations between the countries of the Global South;

·         A socio-ecological platform focused on the study of global environmental governance, the international regulatory framework in the field of environmental protection, climate change, environmental and climate justice;

· Security and development of the Global South: the study of security problems in Latin America and their impact on development policy, including such aspects of the topic as the militarization of public security, interregional practice in the field of security and development ^[14].

In addition to research, the Center sees as a task the exchange of information between the research structures of the BRICS countries, the promotion of the BRICS agenda, the development of cooperation with other analytical centers. In 2018, the BRICS Research and Development Center was recognized as the best analytical center in the Global Go To Think Tanks Index Report (according to the official website of the Center itself) ^[14]. The materials of the Center are published in Portuguese and English. The institution conducts educational, scientific events, places its own popular science and analytical materials in open access. In particular, in 2022, discussions were held on "BRICS, International conjuncture and Brazil's foreign policy: what to expect in the near future?", "The security crisis in Europe: Challenges and Opportunities for Multilateralism", "What's new in China's Cooperation and Investment Policy?", and a number of other events.

Thus, the policy of "soft power" of the BRICS in Latin America is at the stage of formation. One of its elements is the activity of the BRICS Research and Development Center, which performs research, organizational and informational functions.