BRICS Expansion: Emerging of New Semi-Peripheries or Sub-Imperialism? A Comparative Analysis of Ethiopia, Nigeria and South Africa

Abstract

The expansion of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) with the membership of Ethiopia in 2024 and partner countries of Nigeria and Uganda in 2025 requires a new debate about whether South Africa is the only semi-peripheral power in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). South Africa’s leading role on the continent is being shaken up but does this represent the rise of new semi-peripheries in SSA? Could the growing number of BRICS members in SSA be the source of sub-imperialism or new semi-peripheries? This study suggests that despite the recent rise of its counterparts, South Africa is still the only semi-periphery in SSA.