This book analyses key elements of the trade performance of the so-called BRIICS: Brazil, Russia, India, Indonesia, China and South Africa, in relation to the rest of the world, focusing on trade and other policies influencing that performance. It also presents a separate chapter for each country.

This open access book asks why and how some of the developing countries have “emerged” under a set of similar global conditions, what led individual countries to choose the particular paths that led to their “emergence,” and what challenges confront them. If we are to understand the nature of major risks and uncertainties in the world, we must look squarely at the political and economic dynamics of emerging states, such as China, India, Brazil, Russia, and ASEAN countries. Their rapid economic development has changed the distribution of wealth and power in the world. Yet many of them have middle income status. To global governance issues, they tend to adopt approaches that differ from those of advanced industrialized democracies. At home, rapid economic growth and social changes put pressure on their institutions to change. This volume traces the historical trajectories of two major emerging states, China and India, and two city states, Hong Kong and Singapore. It also analyzes cross-country data to find the general patterns of economic development and sociopolitical change in relation to globalization and to the middle income trap.

The first decade of the 21st century has been a period of rapid eco¬nomic growth in many large emerging economies, especially China. While Western economies are weighed down by debt and austerity measures, many emerging economies are in much better fiscal shape. The growing economic and financial momentum of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, as well as indonesia, Turkey and South Korea (or `BRICS+), raises serious questions for Western decision makers. Of central strategic concern is whether (several of) the emerging economies are likely to coalesce into an economic or political bloc that might develop a counterbalance to Western influence in existing economic, financial and political institutions. The emergence of a de facto bipolar world with `the West against the Rest could increase the costs of doing business, severely complicate reaching agreement on transnational problems, challenge the promotion of Western values and human rights, lead to increased diplomatic or military tensions and potentially jeopardize the ongoing process of economic globalization. Questions this study addresses include: could the BRICS+ pave the way to¬ward a new economic or political bloc? In what ways has the rise of emerging economies affected the international power balance? And, how could bloc formation impact on economic opportunities for European firms in these emerging economies?

The core questions addressed in the article are: What are the BRICS states specifically proposing to the existing world order and the global south in the areas of paradigms of economic and social development and systems of governance? What do these countries have in common? Can this commonality be instrumentalised and converted in favour of African progress? What is the ideological foundation of t. [...] As these countries are in the process of 'graduating' from their status of underdevelopment to a transitional phase towards the consolidation of their status of new emerging economies, some issues are being raised about the impetus and the origins of this new dynamic and the nature of the relationship between the free market forces, the state and the society within the global capitalist economy. [...] Since the beginning of the twenty-first century, the dynamics of international political economy have been challenged by the ways nation- states and people are reacting to the imperatives of such an economy, especially the new technical management style and new usage of the dominant social paradigms (technology, science and the free market). [...] In order to understand why a system behaves the way it does, we have to ask the questions of the origins of its elements, examine the nature of the relationship among them, and discuss the nature of the interactions between the system itself and other phenomena within or around its larger environment Within the systems analysis, I interpret history as a changing phenomenon that is not predetermine. [...] The substance of this redefinition and its significance depend on the dynamics of the local political configurations, who the actors are, what their alliances are, how a given people and state have become part of the world system, the location of these actors in the international political economy, what they are bringing into the global market.

This book provides a clear, to-the-point review of the current status between advanced economies and emerging markets, the economic and political factors, as well as the local conditions in general in the emerging countries. I found it very interesting and highly recommend it to anyone with a global footprint. -Robert Moore Bernardos, European Program Manager, Atradius, Amsterdam, Netherlands. A comprehensive account detailing contemporary issues pertinent to global economics and international trade. An invaluable reference book for students, professionals, entrepreneurs, and politicians. -Osei Owusu-Agyeman, CEO, Agyeman Projects and Investments, Accra, Ghana. There is intense competition among emerging markets to capture their share of the global economy. This book addresses questions that are ger mane to accomplish- ing this goal. Most important to this end is the study and practice of international business and foreign trade. Marcus Goncalves is an Associate Professor of Management and Chair of the International Business Program at Nichols College, with 28 years of international management consulting experience in Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Asia, and the U.S.