CHANGING THE PATTERNS OF THE GLOBAL ECONOMY – THE EMERGENCE AND EVOLUTION OF THE BRIC COUNTRIES

The world is (permanently) changing – and from time to time major shifts occur and redefine its patterns of evolution. The global economy within it gets new leading actors and defining features, new power balance and architecture. This is inevitable in order to develop. Sometime of these shifts seem to be the result of a scientifically grounded, well defined and consciously applied strategy, and sometime it seems to be the result of some kind of a Brownian movement (something like: “it just happened”). In this paper we analyze the fascinating “case” of the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China). Having some (a few) common features, but actually being very different (in most of the aspects), and in an absence of a unique mission, vision and development strategy, the four countries have started to be seen as an entity (given their previous evolution and based on forecasting studies) – not only able to change the patterns of the global economy, but, more than that, able to lead it in the (almost near) future (the year 2050). This very optimistic projection of Goldman Sachs obviously has (and still have) its critics, but the governments of the BRICs took it very seriously – by assuming the theory and organizing annual common meetings – the best of the validation! The impact of the global crisis (and recession) on the BRICs is a major challenge for them and the opinions also vary a lot in this aspect – from “BRICs didn’t experience the crisis yet” to “BRIC will offer the best models of recovery”; we just have to “wait and see”.