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The journal "Moscow University Bulletin. Series XXV. International Relations and World Politics" (No. 1, 2026) published an article by Lida Oganisyan, Senior Researcher of the Department of International Political Problems of IMEMO, Cand. of Science (Politics), – "Sanctions in the BRICS Discourse".

Currently, various restrictive measures are among the most actively used tools in the arsenal of leading actors in world politics. The countries of the Global South are both the object and, increasingly, the subject of their application. The most notable examples are the states that form the core of the BRICS. This article identifies the key features of the multidimensional discourse on sanctions within this informal association. The first section examines the attitude of key BRICS member countries towards the use of unilateral and international sanctions, which is then projected onto the level of the entire association, largely determining its agenda in this sphere. As shown, while still officially condemning the practice of unilateral restrictive measures, a number of BRICS countries are increasingly employing various autonomous restrictions: typically informal sanctions (sanctions under other names), but in recent years more and more often formal ones as well. The second section identifies the key elements of the discourse on sanctions within BRICS as a whole. According to the author, one of its most important narratives is the idea of the unacceptably high ‘collateral damage’ inflicted by sanctions on the target state’s population, as well as on third countries, particularly developing ones. The third section examines new trends in the approaches of BRICS members to sanctions amidst the expanded use of secondary restrictions by Western actors in recent years and the Trump administration’s rise to power in the United States, which intensified pressure on the BRICS countries. The author concludes that although this pressure could stimulate the development of a coordinated policy among the BRICS countries aimed at minimizing damage from sanctions, as of today, there is no indication that the association is ready to speak with one voice against Western unilateral sanctions, let alone directly counter them. Nevertheless, even this moderate BRICS position on sanctions contributes to advancing and strengthening the discourse on the need to form a new, more just, polycentric world order.