Contesting Hegemony: The Rise of BRICS and the Crisis of US-led Western Hegemony in the MENA Region

Abstract

This study examines the possible role of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) as a counter-hegemonic alternative to the longstanding US-led world order, (US), particularly in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. As a non-western area, the MENA region presents an illustrative testing ground for the assessment of the thesis of Western hegemonic decline and its contestation by the BRICS and intra-regional leaders such as Turkey and Iran. By analyzing the current situation in the MENA region in the context of declining US power and its relative retrenchment from the Middle East, the study evaluates BRICS countries and other regional leaders' engagement in a "competitive game" to occupy a leading position in regional issues, which in turn moves regional dynamics towards a more balanced configuration. Even though the study proclaims that the rise of BRICS generates new geopolitics in the region, a counter-hegemonic structure is not forming because BRICS nations are not yet in a prime position to mould the norms, ideas, institutions, and rules of the current regional order. Therefore, this study conceptualizes the rise of BRICS as a "within-system" challenge, unveiling the changes in power politics and geopolitical equations in the MENA region that are triggered by this power shift.