The BRICS Policy Center / BRICS Study and Research Center, the think tank linked to the Institute of International Relations at PUC-Rio (IRI/PUC-RIO), is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit think tank in the city of Rio de Janeiro. The Center is dedicated to the analysis and study of the multiple global transformations underway and their implications for Brazil and the Global South. It also aims to contribute to the debate and formulation of policies aimed at reducing inequalities and promoting a broad rights agenda, with an emphasis on the BRICS+ countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Egypt and Ethiopia). The BPC builds its reflection from a critical and multidimensional understanding of the persistent asymmetries in the international system, the different development models, the reproduction of inequalities, the deepening environmental crisis, global governance formats and the role that the countries of the South have, can and should play in this changing scenario. Currently, the main programs of research are: BRICS-Urbe, Global South Mediation Unit (GSUM), Cooperation and Financing Laboratory for Development (LACID), Socioenvironmental Platform, Research on Modern Slavery, Political Economy of South-South Relations, Security and Development in the Global South (SEED), and the Innovation and Governance of Development Program.
The Center has been solidifying itself as a recognized platform for dialogue between a diversity of national and international actors: academics, public officials, non-governmental organizations, and social movements, among others. Since its foundation, the BPC has aimed to influence public institutions, legislators, civil society, and other relevant decision-makers.
Since 2011, the BPC has been ranked among the best think tanks in the world and is a reference for the academic community, policymakers, and civil society organizations around the world. In 2018, the BRICS Policy Center was voted the best think tank associated with a Brazilian university by the Global Go To Think Tanks Index Report, one of the most comprehensive reports in the world, carried out by the University of Pennsylvania (USA). It was also voted the number one think tank in Brazil for science and technology and for holding conferences, and the 5th best in the world for transdisciplinary research.
Mission
To contribute to the advancement of a development agenda, the expansion of rights and the promotion of equality in the countries of the Global South, through the production of critical and relevant knowledge for the public debate on the transformations underway in the international system and their consequences at local, national, and regional level.
Activities and Publications
To achieve its purpose, the BPC works by combining the training of researchers, qualified research, strategic analysis, publications, and advocacy. The Centre has played an important political role in the democratization of international politics through booklets, reports and public debates that aim to establish a plural, informed and transversal dialogue on international issues and their effects on the daily lives of people in the city and the country.
Partnerships
The Center encourages cooperative links and the exchange of information between research institutions in the BRICS countries and continually expands its network of partnerships and institutional cooperation with other Think Tanks and research organizations in Brazil and abroad. Currently, the BPC has more than 50 active cooperation agreements.
Our Partnerships
Staff
The BPC’s research programs are coordinated by researchers from the Institute of International Relations at PUC-Rio, with assistance from graduate students (master’s and doctoral students) and interns (undergraduates) from the same Institute.