The Role of Capital Cities in BRICS Strategic Communication

The report will present the results of a comprehensive analysis of the strategic communication (SC) of the BRICS countries on issues of the urban agenda and cooperation of their capitals since the establishment of the fora in 2009. Based on the study of the official BRICS agenda on issues of urban development (documents of summits, ministerial meetings, documents of outreach formats, etc.), the author will talk about the ideas that underlie the BRICS SC in the field of urban development, how it is possible to ensure synchronization of the urban agenda, as well as what commitments in this area have been made by BRICS leaders and how they are being implemented. The author will present the results of the analysis of city resources - strategic documents, concepts of external relations and international cooperation, statements of the mayors of Brasilia, Moscow, New Delhi, Beijing, Pretoria, Cape Town and Bloemfontein (South Africa), Cairo, Addis Ababa, Jakarta, Tehran and Abu Dhabi, which contain references to BRICS. The author will demonstrate the intensity of the influence of the BRICS SC on the domestic and foreign policies of the capitals of the association in different periods, highlighting key successful cases. Particular attention will be paid to the BRICS dialogue formats on urban issues, namely the Urbanization Forum and the International Municipal Forum. The author will also touch upon the BRICS initiatives to create their own city ratings in order to improve their image compared to the positions they occupy in traditional "Western" city ratings.