The National Security Agenda of the African Participants and Partners of the BRICS

Following the 16th BRICS Summit in 2024, three African states - Algeria, Nigeria and Uganda - were granted the designation of partner states. The geographical scope and thematic agenda of BRICS activities are expanding, with development and security issues (including on the African continent) occupying a central place. However, the concept of security itself has undergone a significant transformation in recent decades, evolving from the traditional state security paradigm, which focused on countering external military threats, to a more comprehensive approach that encompasses various dimensions, including political, socio-economic, technological and environmental. Referring to the concept of securitization proposed by the Copenhagen School of security studies, the authors proceed from the need to present the African BRICS+ countries (South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia as member-states, Uganda and Nigeria as new partners) as actors formulating the national security agenda. The present study focuses on the threats identified in the official discourse of these countries, which ones are prioritized and how this is argued in relation to the specifics of the national context. The research problem being solved aligns with the objectives of Russian foreign policy to strengthen interaction with the countries of the African continent in the field of security (including through BRICS). Furthermore, the study could contribute to a deeper theoretical understanding of non-Western discourse on security issues. The article provides a comparative analysis of the relevant doctrinal documents adopted in South Africa, Ethiopia, Uganda and Nigeria. The analysis of the national security agenda of Egypt was conducted mainly through the examination of official speeches delivered at the UN General Assembly. The problem of contradictions between Egypt and Ethiopia regarding the use of the Nile River was examined through the prism of an approach based on the interdependence of water, energy and food resources. Strategic documents in the field of cybersecurity of Egypt, South Africa, Uganda and Nigeria were not ignored. Despite obvious differences in national approaches to ensuring security, the authors concluded that country strategies respond to global trends of securitizing development issues and complicating the scope of the security concept.