Since it was recognized by a Goldman Sachs strategist in 2001, BRICS — the group of Brazil, Russia, China and India, joined by South Africa in 2010 — has loomed large as a challenge to the global order established after World War II.
The collective heft of those economies was supposed to recalibrate international decision making, forcing a reorientation of global institutions.
While the reality of the BRICS has proven considerably less formidable than the idea, the leaders of those five nations remain committed to a fundamental change in the way the world works. They moved forward with that ambition last week with the decision to launch the New Development Bank (NDB), a financial institution that will rival the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in the provision of financing for developing economies.