Vol 33, No 4 (2025): BRICS+: THE CHANGING ROLE IN A MULTIPOLAR WORLD

The events of 2022 revealed a number of problems of global importance and became the starting point for the formation of new trends in the global economy and international economic relations. Anti-Russian sanctions and the rebalancing of Russia’s main trading partners, the ongoing BRICS summits and their results, damage to pipeline branches, have actually reinforced the trends towards the “rise” of the countries of the Global South, and led to changes in the participation of Asian and African countries in the system of international economic relations and in the world markets of goods and services. The study is devoted to identifying the shifts that have occurred, in particular, in the foreign trade of the Indian Republic, namely, in the structure, geography and dynamics of Indian commodity exports. This study is more than relevant, not only because India is a strategic and privileged partner for Russia, but also because after 2022. Such significant shifts have taken place in Indian foreign trade, which can contribute not only to changing the role of the country’s place in the system of international economic relations and in the world markets of goods and services but also become a kind of driver of economic growth and an instrument of India’s economic policy aimed at turning the country into an international industrial hub. In the process of conducting the research, the author refers to such methods of economic analysis as: induction, deduction, retrospective, comparative analysis, which allow for a fairly accurate and in-depth study of the selected problem. The results of the work carried out revealed: a rebalancing (rotation) of India’s main trading partners, a significant change not only in the total value of India’s foreign trade, but also a significant change in export values by trading partner; transformation of commodity groups exported by India in favor of the predominance of fuel and energy resources; change in the weight and nomenclature of Indian-Russian trade; threats and challenges facing India from Western economies and their foreign economic policies.

In the context of global transformation of trade and economic relations and the restructuring of international logistics chains, the study of China’s role as a key driver of integration processes within BRICS becomes particularly relevant. This research is dedicated to a comprehensive analysis of the impact of Chinese economic expansion on the development of transport and logistics infrastructure in the member countries, which presents significant scientific and practical interest in the context of forming a new architecture of international economic relations. The study conducts a detailed analysis of China’s investment activities in the infrastructure projects of BRICS countries, with a particular focus on the “Belt and Road” initiative as a systemic element of the modern logistics system in Eurasia. The methodological framework of the study includes: a comparative analysis of the economic strategies of the participating countries, an assessment of the effectiveness of logistics systems through the lens of the LPI index, statistical analysis of commodity flows, and expert evaluations of the implementation of major infrastructure projects. The results of the study indicate the ambiguous nature of Chinese influence. On one hand, a significant positive effect from Chinese investments has been identified, manifested in the modernization of transport infrastructure, an increase in trade turnover, and enhanced interconnectedness of economies. On the other hand, substantial risks have been discovered, associated with the formation of asymmetric dependence, exacerbation of debt problems, and geopolitical competition. Special attention in this study is given to differentiated strategies for BRICS countries to adapt to Chinese economic expansion. It is shown that while Russia and South Africa demonstrate a high degree of involvement in Chinese infrastructure projects, Brazil and India pursue a more balanced policy, combining cooperation with measures to protect national economic interests. In conclusion, the necessity for developing a coordinated strategy among BRICS countries aimed at diversifying transport routes, developing alternative logistics corridors, and strengthening institutional interaction is justified. Promising areas for further research include issues related to the digitalization of logistics systems and the creation of mechanisms for balanced economic partnership within the union.

The study evaluates the structure and dynamics of economic cooperation between the Russian Federation and BRICS, with a focus on technological transfer. The methods of assessing the intersectoral interactions and technological asymmetry of the BRICS countries, as well as their advantages and disadvantages, are considered and investigated. The evolution of this tool for the tasks of international economic relations is described. A comparative analysis of the innovation systems of the BRICS countries, their structural features and the asymmetry of development is carried out. The study presents a comprehensive model for analyzing the structural dynamics of cross-­industry and cross-­country economic cooperation between the BRICS countries in the context of technological sovereignty. The developed methodology integrates three key approaches: Leontiev’s intersectoral balance, Yershov’s dynamic models, and Hausmann-­Hidalgo network analysis, which allows us to consider technological gaps, institutional constraints, and the asymmetry of interactions between countries. The focus is on the study of technological transfer coefficients, which demonstrate significant asymmetry, especially in relations between Russia and China. The model includes modified matrices of intersectoral relationships, considering sanctions restrictions and currency factors, as well as dynamic components reflecting capital accumulation and adaptation of price mechanisms. Network analysis based on the country-­technology matrix makes it possible to assess the trajectories of technological development and the potential for economic diversification. The study revealed critical technological dependencies between the BRICS countries; the impact of sanctions pressure on structural changes has been assessed; the scenarios of import substitution and strengthening of technological sovereignty have been evaluated. The practical significance of the work lies in the possibility of using the model to form strategies for international cooperation, optimize value chains and predict growth points in the context of global turbulence.

The study addresses the problem of adapting the financial instruments for implementing the environmental agenda to the regional context of the Russian economy. The study is devoted to identifying the financial features and prospects for accelerating the green transition of the Southern Federal District (SFD) of the Russian Federation through the optimization of eco-­investments. The study is based on statistical materials of Rosstat on the dynamics of financial injections into the green transition and its manifestations in the regions of the SFD in 2021–2022, which are processed using the regression modeling method. Financial monitoring of the green transition of the SFD was carried out, which revealed the following features of this process: the inconsistency of the eco-­investment trend, increasing in nominal terms, but decreasing in real terms; an institutional trap, expressed in the lack of a contribution of eco-­investments to the green transformation of the environment in the SFD; patterns of increasing public and industrial involvement in the green transition in the SFD in relation to the increase in eco-­investments. The prospect of accelerating the green transition of the SFD through the optimization of eco-­investments is established — for this purpose, the optimal volume of eco-­investments is recommended for the implementation of a complete green transition in the SFD in the period from 2036 to 2050. In the system, the listed results formed a financial model of the green transition of the SFD based on eco-­investments, which highlighted the meso-­level financial horizon of the green transition in the SFD and opened the “black box” of the application of financial instruments to the implementation of the green transition in the SFD due to the explanation of the transformation processes of eco-­investments, specification and clarification of the return on them in the SFD. The identified meso-­level features and patterns will increase the accuracy of financial planning and the efficiency of financial management of environmental activities in the SFD. A scientifically based benchmark for optimizing eco-­investments in the SFD will make it possible to create a road map for the green transition of the SFD in support of achieving environmental goals in advancing Russia along a low-­carbon path of economic development.

Under current conditions of economic digitalization, the problem of assessing the effectiveness of interaction mechanisms between the state and the business sector has become particularly relevant. Studying the efficacy of state support measures for small and medium-­sized enterprises (SMEs) requires a comprehensive approach to analyzing digital interaction tools. The key objective of the study lies in determining the effectiveness of digital communication channels between government structures and the business community. Particular attention is paid to identifying factors influencing the efficiency of implementing state support programs in the digital environment. The methodological framework of the study includes comparative and statistical analysis of data from official sources, as well as expert assessments and results of entrepreneur surveys. The informational basis comprises materials from the Federal Tax Service (FTS), the Unified SME Register, the SME Corporation, and the Ministry of Economic Development for the 2019–2024 period. The conducted analysis revealed a positive trend in the use of electronic government services among SMEs. However, significant disparities in the level of digitalization across regions and economic sectors were identified. Programs for financial and educational support of entrepreneurs demonstrate the highest effectiveness. The study uncovered a number of substantial challenges in the sphere of digital interaction. These include insufficient development of regional infrastructure, low levels of digital literacy among small business representatives, and imperfect integration of electronic government services. The purpose of the study is to develop and substantiate methodological approaches for assessing the effectiveness of state-­business interaction, with a focus on the regional case of Moscow Oblast. The application of various methods (empirical and statistical analysis, review of official sources and authoritative analytical agencies) to address the research questions has enabled the justification for further development of state business support mechanisms, particularly for SMEs, to eliminate identified disparities and enhance the accessibility of digital services for small and medium-­sized businesses.

The study is devoted to the analysis of key performance indicators of leading IT companies in order to assess their level of competitiveness. In modern conditions, the development of IT technologies underlies the production of high-­tech products and contributes to strengthening the technological sovereignty of the country. The developers of such technologies are primarily leading IT companies. Constant monitoring of functioning companies helps to identify the most effective among them. The tool proposed in the article for assessing the level of competitiveness of an organization is a modified SWOT analysis, which, in our opinion, compensates for the disadvantages of classical SWOT analysis, and is also more informative for data analysis. A significant disadvantage of classical SOWT analysis is that it is built only at the time of the last, current research period. At the same time, the dynamics of changes over the previous period is not analyzed. The dynamic SWOT analysis takes into account the current state of companies and plays a key role in the retrospective state. The proposed modified SWOT analysis makes it possible to track the competitiveness of companies in terms of limited but key performance indicators of the company in dynamics. At the same time, it is possible to select the desired evaluation metric and the analysis period. In the absence of the necessary statistical data on the company’s activities, this choice partially solves the problem. The proposed study provides an analysis of the dynamics of the state of companies in the IT sector, although our proposed approach to assessing the competitiveness of a company can be applied to other sectors of the economy. Considering a larger number of performance indicators of companies, as well as external factors, will improve the proposed methodology. The proposed method for analyzing the level of competitiveness of companies is made clear in a study based on SWOT diagrams constructed using the mathplotlib library in Python.

At the present stage of development of the professional sports industry, such a phenomenon as sports migration is becoming more relevant and significant. The purpose of the research is to study the state and trends of migration processes in the global sports market. The current migration trends in the professional sports industry are considered on the example of world football, which is in the greatest demand among the consumer audience of a sports product, which allowed us to get the most complete picture of the development of migration processes in the industry market. The conducted research is based on the analysis of statistical data on sports migration of the International Center for Sports Research (CIES), information from the German Transfermarkt website on transfer operations of professional athletes and the report of the International Football Federation on the development of the global transfer market. A comprehensive analysis of the migration flows of professional athletes was carried out in the context of six confederations of the International Football Federation, data on the main leagues of associations were taken for more objective analysis. Based on the author’s infographics, the features of the processes of world sports migration by countries in the context of continents (confederations) are illustrated, the key directions of external and internal emigration are noted, its structure and average value per association are determined, the level of presence of legionnaires in associations around the world is revealed. The directions of migration flows of professional athletes are studied through territorial analysis, and the impact of the global transfer market on the effectiveness of economic regulation of these processes is assessed. In conclusion, it is emphasized that the effectiveness of trends in the development of sports migration depends on a balanced approach to human resource management on the part of such key industry functionaries as confederations, associations, leagues and clubs.

Digitalization is regarded as one of the most prominent trends of development of global economy as well as international economic relations. Yet, the authors stress that when broken to transport and logistics digital processes tend to be uneven, fragmented, and generally too declarative. The research finds out that conservative way of thinking of the majority of market participants also hampers such transformation, which is mostly evident in global trade in hydrocarbons. In its turn, juridical unsettledness both globally and nationally of electronic turnover of transport documents at large and electronic Bill of Lading (B/L) in particular both globally and nationally also undermines the upcoming perspectives. Thus, it has been revealed that it is too early to speak about a well-­structured system of electronic document turnover (incl. B/L segment) in logistics of international trade. As of today, it has been justified that almost 95 % of international seaborne trade is covered by B/Ls. At the same time there is no commonly accepted definition of B/L or electronic B/L. So far nothing has been juridically settled with negotiability function of e-B/L. However, there is a couple of electronic platforms that facilitate the turnover of e-B/Ls. Generally they are of limited membership and geographical coverage (for instance, EU). Besides, banks’ joining the process is quite disputable despite the fact there is already the electronic version (eUCP) of ICC Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (UCP 600). In this essence, Bolero, yet with some clauses, turns out to be the most leading platforms servicing e-B/Ls. To sum it up, the study outlines that given the lack of solid system of electronic turnover of transport documents both in organizational and juridical terms a good example of existing practices could be derived from the telex-­release technology used in liner shipping of containers and containing some traits of e-B/L ascendancies. The authors conclude that it is worth positioning the current state of affairs as paperless B/L turnover or quasi-­electronic rather than fully electronic one.

Globalization is a phenomenon that in the modern world has an increasingly contradictory connotation. If in the middle of the last century most countries in the world were striving for greater openness of their economies, over the last decade there are trends of deglobalization, in order to preserve sovereignty or to protect national economic and political interests. The process of economic globalization is being strengthened through the role of international economic organizations, the conclusion of regional trade agreements, participation in economic blocs and the entry of influential big brands into new markets. The study aims to summarize the prerequisites for strengthening economic globalization, why deglobalization processes occur and what are the consequences for the world economy. The study will focus on economic globalization and will cover some more distinctive contemporary examples of economic deglobalization and their effects. Тhe analysis shows that protectionism in major economies could lead to partial market deglobalization mostly in the protected sectors and it is a prerequisite for economic shocks that lead to a deterioration in the basic indicators of the countries. Economic disintegration may lead to trade shifts and temporarily affect the country’s economy, but it does not deglobalize the national market. The challenges of the study is the simultaneous analysis of globalization and deglobalization, which adds significant complexity to the research. Moreover, the study explores many current economic issues, some of which are still evolving, such as the complex trade relations between the United States and China since the beginning of 2025.