Explaining African States’ Participation in BRICS: A Comparative Analysis of South Africa, Egypt, and Ethiopia

Why do African states participate in BRICS cooperation, and how should their participation be understood analytically? Focusing on South Africa, Egypt, and Ethiopia, this article develops a comparative framework for explaining state participation in international organizations through three ideal-typical modes—political, economic, and regional participation—and argues that actual engagement is better understood as a mixed pattern shaped by a dominant motive alongside secondary incentives. Drawing on a comparative analysis of policy documents, official statements, and the three countries’ trajectories of engagement with BRICS, the study shows that South Africa has approached BRICS primarily as a platform for enhancing international status, regional leadership, and Africa’s voice in global governance; Egypt has engaged BRICS mainly as a vehicle for economic recovery, financial cooperation, and broader development opportunities; and Ethiopia has participated with a stronger regional orientation, seeking to position itself as a strategic gateway linking BRICS with the Horn of Africa. At the same time, the article demonstrates that these motivations do not operate in isolation. BRICS as an institutional framework reshapes member preferences over time, generating overlap among political, economic, and regional incentives. The participation of the three African states has strengthened BRICS–Africa linkages and amplified African claims within global governance debates, yet its effectiveness remains constrained by intra-African geopolitical tensions, divergent issue priorities, and the still limited representativeness of African membership within BRICS. The findings contribute to the study of international organization participation by showing that state engagement in BRICS is neither single-cause nor static, but dynamically produced through the interaction between national strategy and institutional context.