IJoC Publishes Special Section on BRICS

The rise of the BRICS nations is one of the most significant phenomena of the 21st century. These countries — Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa — which represent about half of the world’s population and a substantial proportion of global economic activity, are undergoing rapid economic, social, political, technological, and cultural transitions. Concomitant to internal changes, these nations strive for international recognition, question global norms, aim to reshape global power structures as well as to revise axes of cross-cultural collaboration and economic exchange (i.e., East-West, South-South, North-South).

This Special Section “Building the BRICS: Media, Nation Branding and Global Citizenship”examines media and communicative practices among the BRICS countries to assess how they have negotiated social, economic, political and cultural transitions in recent decades. The essays in this Special Section address three contemporary concerns. The first is the idea of nation branding, which we argue is a rich approach to considering the multifaceted process of how national and cultural identities are undergoing transformation and being communicated in these countries. Thinking about these transformations from the perspective of nation branding allows for greater understanding of the intersection of politics, society and economics. Indeed, the weight of marked economic growth and increased international attention has exerted influence on how individuals of these nations see themselves and are seen. This leads to a second issue of global citizenship — or, how people belong to and participate in the global community. A third point concerns the notion of building, which allows for thinking broadly about the outcomes of transformations that have involved multiple stakeholders and phases. Thus, the articles highlight the tensions and negotiations taking place to define national identities and new international alliances not as a well-defined strategic program but as a dynamic process.

We invite you read these nine articles that published in IJoC on June 28, 2016:

Building the BRICS: Media, Nation Branding and Global Citizenship – Introduction
Hongmei Li, Leslie L. Marsh

Toward a Common Standard for Aid Transparency: Discourses of Global Citizenship Surrounding the BRICS
James Pamment, Karin Wilkins

Strategizing for Creative Industries in China: Contradictions and Tension in Nation Branding
Anthony Fung

Branding Brazil Through Cultural Policy: Rio de Janeiro as a Creative, Audiovisual City
Leslie L. Marsh

Voters Against Public Opinion: The Press and Democracy in Brazil and South Africa
Afonso de Albuquerque

Global Partners or International Spies? A Comparative Analysis of the Russian Media’s Coverage of the Law on “Foreign Agents”
Anna Popkova

Getting in the Game? A Rising India and the Question of Global Sport
Erika Polson, Erin Whiteside

The Global as the Postcolonial: Desire, Identity, and Liminality in Indian Rock
Sangeet Kumar

Road to India—A Brazilian Love Story: BRICS, Migration, and Cultural Flows in Brazil’s Caminho das Indias
Swapnil Rai, Joseph Straubhaar