Abstract
Over the past 20 years, social scientists, government officials, and investors have expressed mounting interest in the BRIC countries, which include Brazil, Russia, India, and China.2 This acronym was originally coined in 2001 by a Goldman Sachs official who was concerned with the increasing role these countries were playing in global finance (Hounshell 2011). Recently, there has been a growing recognition that the effects of the BRICs on the global economy are not limited to finance. It is also clear that these countries are key political actors: all but one of them possess nuclear weapons, they are regional powers, and many observers view China as a potential challenger to the United States in global political-military affairs.
Many observers have argued that the BRICs are budding rivals of the United States and the European Union (EU). The purpose of this paper is to identify some key topics and questions stemming from this development, and to discuss some possible avenues for future research on the BRICs. From a conceptual standpoint, some researchers have described the BRICs as middle powers or rising powers in the global economy. At the outset, I will address some issues associated with defining these countries as rising powers. I then discuss whether the existing theoretical literature in the field of international political economy suffices to explain the role of BRICs and whether there is a need for new theories. Finally, I offer a few comments on China, since its rapid growth has stimulated particular interest.
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