A little over a decade ago Africa was being spoken of in the media as the 'lost' or 'hopeless' continent. Now it has some of the fastest growing economies in the world, largely because of the impact of the BRICS: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. In this first book to be written about the BRICS as a collective phenomenon, Pádraig Carmody reveals how their engagements with Africa, both individually and collectively, are often contradictory, generating new inequalities and potential for development. Crucially, Carmody shows how the geopolitics of the BRICS countries' involvement in Africa is impacted by and impacts upon their international relations more generally, and how the emergence of these economies has begun to alter the very nature of globalization, which is no longer purely a Western-led project. This is a path-breaking examination of Africa's changing role in the world.

This updated book (6th edition published in December 2017) examines how the BRICS countries of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa have emerged as potentially potent forces in the global economy, and the reasons behind their economic rise. Yet, although they share certain advantages, they possess different strengths. China has become a dominant global supplier of manufactured goods, while India has emerged as a key global provider of services. Brazil and Russia have become major global exporters of raw materials, resources that China and India require for their industrialisation. South Africa has a diversified economy, and is regarded as a low-risk destination for investment in Africa. The emergence of the BRICS could signal a shift in economic and political power away from the advanced economies of the West. A close 'alliance' between the BRICS countries is becoming a reality, and could further increase their geopolitical stature, leading to significant changes in the current world order. However, China is the real power in the BRICS group, and rivalry with the other BRICS, due to their overlapping spheres of influence, may create future tensions that prevent the emergence of a new powerful grouping. In addition, despite the balance of global economic power shifting towards the BRICS since the turn of the century, there remain doubts over the sustainability of their economic policies. Weak global demand for commodities in recent years has contributed to stalled economies in Brazil, Russia and South Africa, while unprecedented investment levels in China have led to concerns over its rising public and private debt. India's rapidly growing population and considerable rural poverty are problematic for its future development. Therefore, the book looks at the different set of obstacles faced by each of the BRICS countries, and the challenges that may thwart their individual global ambitions, as well as the ability of the BRICS group to take centre stage in tomorrow's global economy. This book includes content from the book titles - 'The Rise (& Fall) of Brazil in the Global Economy', 'The Rise (& Fall) of Russia in the Global Economy', 'The Rise of India in the Global Economy' and 'The Rise of China in the Global Economy' - in addition to dedicated content on the BRICS group. Numerous discussion questions and multiple-choice review questions are included, along with graphs and photos, to create a more interactive and educational experience for the reader. It will be of relevance to teachers, students, and anyone else with an interest in the emergence of the BRICS countries and the globalisation of the world economy.

Essay from the year 2018 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: Development Politics, grade: A, The University of York, course: MA (Conflict, Development and Governance), language: English, abstract: Based on the Africanist theory of International Relations, the paper examines how the rise of the BRICS countries, particularly China, reshaped the economic and geopolitical realities in Africa for the past two decades. Across infrastructure financing, trade, investment and aid, there is no other traditional Western Power with such colossal engagement in Africa than China. The Chinese companies invest enormously in all across Africa by bringing new technologies, creating jobs, developing skills for the local Africans and immensely contributing to the Africa state's public revenue. The recent Africa-China economic relationship has threatened the dominance of the traditional 'Great Powers' in the fields of economics and geopolitics. However, the paper will shed light on the challenges of the Sino/Africa relations from the African perspectives particularly how the Chinese workers and the 'cheap' and 'substandard' products overflowing African domestic markets. Considering both sides of the coin, China's involvement in Africa is perceived positively by Africans, as such China is a significant partner who has generated multiple prospects for African development despite Africa's development move is relatively sluggish.

Title; Copyright; Contents; Abbreviations; Acknowledgements; 1 Introduction: new models of globalization; 2 China: globalization and the rise of the state?; 3 South Africa: another BRIC in the wall?; 4 India: the geo-logics of agro-investments; 5 Russia: unalloyed self-interest or reflections in the mirror?; 6 Brazil: globalizing solidarity or legitimizing accumulation?; 7 Conclusion: governance and the evolution of globalization in Africa; Notes; Bibliography; Index.

This book offers a quantitative and qualitative look at the much-discussed BRICS—Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa—and explores how their economic ascent might cause global economic realignments in the 21st century. Providing a Chinese perspective on how the global realignment might impact strategic choices and a data-driven approach to the similarities and differences within the so-called BRICS group, this book will be of great interest to economists, international banking professionals, and political forecasters.

Africa is said to be rising, turning a definitive page in its history, heralding new and exciting possibilities for the continent. This discourse maintains that with upsurge in economic growth comes improved governance and endogenous dynamics; that the emerging economies, and especially the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa), have been instrumental in diversifying Africa's international relations, perhaps leading to a radical change in the global order, favourable to the developing world. But to what extent is this true, and how deep and how broad has been the impact on society at large? This book takes a critical look at the prevalent Africa Rising discourse, and explores the nature and implications of Africa's "rise" and the role that the BRICS have played in it. The author argues that Africa has still to undergo any structural transformation; that there is strong evidence that deindustrialisation and jobless growth have accompanied the upsurge of interest in the continent; and that far from making a radical turn in its developmental trajectory, Africa is being pushed into the resource corner as commodity exporters, to the North (and now, the BRICS) with little scope for industrial progress or skills advancement. Hope that the BRICS might offer an alternative to the extant neoliberal order are misplaced, for the BRICS have a stake in maintaining the current global unequality. Africa must therefore fashion its own independent path - while the emerging economies will be important, relying on external actors may simply reproduce anew the current state of underdevelopment. Ian Taylor is Professor in International Relations and African Politics, University of St Andrews; Chair Professor, Renmin, University of China; Professor Extraordinary, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa; Honorary Professor, Institute of African Studies, Zhejiang Normal University, China; and a Visiting Scholar at Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Uganda.

Brazil, Russia, India, and China are expected to become the four most influential economies and surpass the current richest economies by the middle of the 21st century. With the inclusion of South Africa in 2010, the BRICS spans across four continents, creating an abundance of geopolitical clout, in addition to its potential economic dominance. This book examines the economic developments of individual BRICS countries, the current politico-economic condition of the BRICS vis-à-vis non-BRICS countries or groups, and the potential of the BRICS to bring about changing paradigms in the global political economy.

Taking an interdisciplinary approach, Vai Io Lo and Mary Hiscock, together with scholars and researchers from around the world, investigate the rise of the BRICS and assess the extent of their further development and influence from the perspectives of

Though initially considered a welcome counterweight to Western interest across Africa, the BRICS are increasingly being viewed as another example of foreign interference and exploitation. BRICS and Resistance in Africa explores the varied forms of African resistance being developed in response to the growing influence of the BRICS. Its case studies cover such instances as the opposition to China's One Belt One Road initiative in East Africa; resistance to the BRICS' oil activities in the Niger Delta; and the role of the BRICS in Zimbabwe's political transition. The contributors expose the contradictions between the group's rhetoric and its real impact, as well as the complicity of local elites in serving as proxies for the BRICS nations. By challenging and expanding the debates surrounding BRICS involvement in Africa, this collection offers new insight into resistance to globalization in the global South.

Schaefer and Poffenbarger assess whether the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) are attempting to balance US power and analyze the United States' responses to the creation of this IGO through a mix of theoretical and policy-focused approaches.