BRICS: Emerging Markets Myths and Realities

Question 1

Who are the BRICS?

Answer 1

Brazil, Russia, India, China & South Africa

Question 2

What is the history of the BRICS?

Answer 2

• Original only four countries
  
  • South Africa added in Dec 2010
• Intellectual creation of Jim O’Neill
  in 2001
  
  • Head of Global Research at
    Goldman Sachs
• Grouping originally an external
  creation
  
  • Since bene appropriated by the
    included countries

Question 3

What unites BRICS?

Answer 3

• United by Exclusion
  
  • By the fact everyone else grouped
    them together

Question 4

What is BRICS’s position?

Answer 4

• Not willing to sit at children’s table
• Calls for major reforms to
  
  • Global financial governenace
    
    • IMF voting quotas
    • World Bank deicion-making
  • Changes to UN representation and
    procedures
  • Shifts in priorities to complete
    WTO Doha Round
• Refusal to pay bill for G8’s banquet

Question 5

What is structural power?

Answer 5

• vs relative
• The power to set rules and norms
• If you lose relative power, you still
  gain from the system
• (1946 - 1954) UN, IMF, World Bank,
  GATT all set up by US in that period
  of time
• Hegemony imbedded into the system

Question 6

What are the 4 aspects of structural power?

Answer 6

- Have to have dominating relative
  power in each
- Security
- Production
- Finance
- Knowledge
- When you control all 4 sides, you can
  change the rules of the game

Question 7

What are the implications of BRICS?

Answer 7

- Civilisational war and militarised
  hegemonic struggle unlikely
- BRICS do not want to take over
    - They would probably like to see
      the entirity of the EU
      represented singularly - (why
      does Italy have the power it
      does?)
    - Doesn’t want to have to deal with
      all the stuff the US has to 
- Increased trade and integration likely
- Contestation of how global system is
  governed, but politically, not
  militarily
    - Too much money being made to
      allow war