International relations scholars often argue that rising powers are aligning and pushing for an alternative, less U.S.-centric order, but the extent of this challenge is understudied. Current debates use either single or small-n case studies of rising powers’ revisionist behavior in specific cooperation areas (e.g. trade scholars writing about trade) or focus on new institutions (e.g. the New Development Bank) and their revisionist potential. How are the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) - prominent rising powers and a revisionist coalition - mobilizing across various issue areas, and how to measure their mobilization? To answer this question, we introduce a BRICS Convergence Index based on an original dataset of BRICS institutional, societal, and individual member state interactions on over fifty policy issues ranging from international political economy and sustainable development to security and health. The presentation concludes by exploring the areas in which BRICS policy coordination is robust enough to challenge U.S. interests.
