Читать книгу The Political Economy of the BRICS Countries - Группа авторов - Страница 13

The growth of the BRICS group of emerging economies (comprising of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) as a power bloc, similar to the G7 and G20, in global politics has been one of the most important geo-political developments in international affairs since the 2008 financial crisis. At first glance, these five countries might seem unlikely partners in a bloc. They vary widely in geographical size, size of their GDPs, internal political systems, and international influence (Armijo, 2007: 8–9). However, what seems to unite them is their belief that they are ‘punching below their weight’ in international affairs and are thus being prevented from playing a more influential role globally by existing great powers, particularly the G7 countries, which remain deeply reluctant to accommodate emerging powers meaningfully in the existing international system. This new bloc could be seen as a symbol of assertion by countries who feel marginalized in global politics despite their strong economic growth and future potential. The group’s declared objective of reshaping the existing international political and economic order, by significantly reforming the ‘Bretton Woods’ institutions, is undoubtedly an attempt to challenge the dominance of the G7 in international political and economic affairs (Hou, 2014).

While the declared objective of reshaping the international political and economic order might seem a natural demand from a group of countries whose economic growth has made them a significant part of the global economy, the achievement of these objectives depends on four critical factors — maintenance of relatively higher rates of economic growth when compared to the G7 economies, much deeper integration into the international economic and trading system, greater cohesion among members of the bloc in both articulating and pressing their demands for significant reform of international economic institutions, and finally domestic political stability that would underpin greater assertiveness abroad.

This chapter will consider the last of these critical factors from a political economy perspective. It will be argued that while all five economies are undoubtedly becoming more significant in the global economy, their ability to exert greater global influence is undermined by critical domestic fault lines. In particular, the political economy of growth in these countries has led to inequitable and non-inclusive growth that could potentially undermine both political and economic stability. This is likely to have a significant impact on their ability to act cohesively as a group and bring about significant changes in the way international institutions and agencies work.

The chapter is divided into five parts. The first part looks at the emergence of BRICS within the context of international relations theory. It will be argued that rather than neo-realist approaches, neo-classical realist approaches which consider domestic factors that could undermine states’ ability to act decisively abroad might be better at explaining both the emergence and future potential of BRICS. This is followed by a discussion of three aspects of the growth strategy followed by the BRICS countries which make their growth non-inclusive. These three aspects are critical for understanding both their current status and the hurdles to them fulfilling long-term potential. First, the initial growth paths that all five countries followed is discussed to explain the different contexts within which each of these five emerging economies have developed. The persisting social and economic inequalities in all five countries is discussed next. The third part discusses the impact of corruption and political capture on growth policies and how they hinder radical shifts in growth policy. A concluding section will consider the impact of non-inclusive growth on domestic stability and its impact on the ability of BRICS countries to play a more influential role in international affairs.