Authors

Discussion

This paper examines Egypt’s and Algeria’s diverging trajectories in their engagement with the expanding BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa). Against the backdrop of an uncertain era of multipolarity, Egypt has secured full membership in the organization, enhancing its geopolitical stance and hopes for economic recovery. Algeria, for its part, has strategically closed the doors to the group, maintaining only an affiliation with the BRICS’ New Development Bank, after its exclusion from the bloc in the summer of 2023.[1] This comparative study delves into the ideological, political and geoeconomic drivers underpinning each country’s approach vis-à-vis their membership in the BRICS, with the aim to 1) unpack the dynamics behind Egypt’s and Algeria’s applications; 2) elucidate Algeria’s motives for its backward step following the group’s controversial rejection; and 3) explore the reverberations of these developments on broader North African politics. The paper will attempt to construct a narrative that captures these elements through an extensive analysis of official statements, diplomatic communications, and economic data.Key research questions will be: Is Egypt’s pursuit of BRICS membership primarily driven by its financial and geopolitical aspirations/needs? To what extent will these ambitions be strained by the potential for increased tensions with rivals, such as Ethiopia, within the same bloc? Did Algeria’s prioritization of ideological diplomacy (including the country’s focus on the Western Sahara issue) play a major role in the country’s exclusion from the group? Will other North African countries, like Tunisia, follow Egypt’s or Algeria’s path? How will regional power balances be affected by these reshufflings? In a similar comparative perspective, this work may also investigate grassroots perceptions through examination of the media landscapes in Egypt and Algeria to uncover their influences on both countries’ engagement strategies with the BRICS, thus offering insights into the intricate interplay between domestic politics and international alignments. In Egypt, pro-regime media portrayed the state’s accession to BRICS as a significant economic and geopolitical win, whereas opposition media criticized it as ineffective to cope with Egypt’s economic challenges. The paper will explore whether similar media dynamics are present in Algeria and how these might have affected its cautious engagement with the BRICS, particularly given the country’s strategic decision to forgo full membership. Finally, given both countries’ longstanding ties with Russia, attention will be given to Moscow’s role in shaping their trajectories and decision-making. When it comes to the Algerian case, one of the hypotheses is that latent frictions/misalignments on the Algiers-Moscow axis (particularly regarding Russia’s military presence in Libya and Mali) have cooled relations between the two countries and contributed to Algeria’s exclusion from the BRICS membership (and its subsequent backward step).