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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.

Keywords

Sub-imperialism modern world-system semi-periphery BRICS enlargement South Africa Ethiopia Nigeria

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

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