LAUSR

International relations system under contemporary conditions does not presuppose existence of a universal, generally accepted world order model. Concepts of the modern global order can stand in marked contrast to each other: the idea of a unipolar world led by the U.S. and the North Atlantic Community is opposed to the notion of a multipolar world with several equatable force poles. One of the phenomena illustrating the polycentrical world narrative is the emergence of BRIC group in the 2000s and its further evolution as BRICS in the 2010s. This explains the relevance of the chosen problem. The article considers major tracks of political cooperation within BRICS. The author analyses final documents of the latest BRICS summits, namely, in Fortaleza (2014), Ufa (2015) and Goa (2016) in terms of extension of the political agenda, also defining its reasons. Points of view expressed by both leading Russian and foreign experts, civic leaders and policymakers are taken into account. The work touches upon the problem of potential enlargement of BRICS, its functioning in the outreach format, as well as possibilities of institutionalisation of the grouping. At the same time, we also bear in mind the difference in approaches of the BRICS countries towards the inclusion of political issues to the agenda. In this piece, we utilise holistic approach to the chosen topic: various fields of activity within BRICS are scrutinised in their inextricable connection, as they determine one another. Thanks to the application of content analysis as a scientific method and the results obtained, it became possible to define the correlation between the attitude of the summit host country to the issues of political cooperation and reflection of the political agenda in the final declaration of the event. As for the conclusions of the research paper, the author presumes that common ideologemes and principles defining BRICS performance (such as supremacy of international law, pursuance of multipolar world, adherence to equal and mutually beneficial cooperation etc.) served as a prerequisite for actual work of the group: creation of the financial institutions, holding multiple meetings at different levels, expansion of bilateral and multilateral exchange. Along with that, not only is the economic vector compatible with the political track but it also becomes the catalyst for the expansion of the agenda. This can be confirmed through consistent increase of the number of political aspects of interaction among the BRICS countries in recent years.