Recent years have seen a flourish of interest in the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) economies and their growing role as producers and intermediate powers in the global economy (Humphrey and Messner in this IDS Bulletin).
Although often considered as a group (with Russia excluded from the BICS grouping), China and India on the one hand, and Brazil and
South Africa on the other, represent different trajectories. The former, the Asian Drivers, are characterised by great economic dynamism, while Brazil and South Africa are facing uncertain economic prospects.
