Economic Blocs (BRICS, G-20) & Global Organizations MCQs

BRICS = Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. South Africa joined in 2010, making BRIC → BRICS.

Jim O’Neill, Chief Economist at Goldman Sachs, coined the term BRIC in his 2001 paper ‘Building Better Global Economic BRICs’.

The original BRIC group was Brazil, Russia, India and China — the four largest emerging-market economies identified by Goldman Sachs.

South Africa was formally invited to join the bloc in December 2010, adding the ‘S’ to make BRICS.

The first BRIC Foreign Ministers’ meeting was held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York in September 2006.

The first BRIC leaders’ summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, on 16 June 2009.

BRICS’ core goal is to promote a multipolar world order and amplify the voice of the Global South in international governance.

After the January 2024 expansion, BRICS has 10 members: the original 5 plus Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, UAE and Saudi Arabia.

Five new members joined on 1 January 2024: Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the UAE.

Argentina was invited but its new president Javier Milei declined membership in December 2023.

Expanded BRICS-10 represents about 45% of the global population.

BRICS-10 covers about 27% of Earth’s total land area.

All five original BRICS members are part of the G20. Several new members (Saudi Arabia) are also G20 members.

BRICS is the leading bloc of developing and newly industrialised emerging-market economies.

The New Development Bank (NDB) was founded by BRICS in 2014 and is headquartered in Shanghai.

Unlike the IMF/World Bank, the NDB issues development loans without political conditionalities.

K. V. Kamath of India was the first President of the NDB (2015–2020).

The CRA, established in 2014, is a $100 billion liquidity safety net for BRICS members.

The BRICS Business Council brings together private sector leaders to promote trade, innovation and cross-border investment.

The BRICS Parliamentary Forum was institutionalised in 2022 to support legislative-level cooperation.

BRICS is developing the BRICS Payment System to bypass dependence on Western-controlled SWIFT.

A proposed BRICS digital currency — informally dubbed BRICoin — is being discussed to reduce reliance on the US dollar.

Local-currency trade among BRICS states surpassed $150 billion in 2024 as part of de-dollarisation efforts.

The BRICS Information Technology Forum coordinates digital-transformation and cybersecurity policy across the bloc.

The BRICS Vaccine Research and Development Center was launched in 2022 to coordinate pandemic preparedness.

The BRICS Green Energy Platform channels investment into renewables — solar, wind and green hydrogen.

The 2021 BRICS Space Cooperation Agreement pools satellite data for climate and disaster monitoring.

BRICS regularly issues joint declarations opposing unilateral sanctions, trade protectionism and unilateral military intervention.

BRICS strongly advocates UN Security Council reform — particularly permanent seats for Brazil, India and South Africa.

BRICS champions ‘climate justice’ — equitable burden-sharing reflecting historical emissions by developed economies.

China is the largest BRICS economy and contributes more than 70% of the bloc’s GDP growth.

Russia, under sweeping Western sanctions since 2022, has used BRICS to diversify trade and payment links.

India follows a strategic-autonomy doctrine, balancing relations with the US/Western bloc and Russia/China.

Brazil is the bloc’s Latin American voice and uses BRICS to advance sustainable-agriculture priorities.

South Africa hosted BRICS summits in Durban (2013) and Johannesburg (2023) — the bloc’s African gateway.

Saudi Arabia’s accession (along with Iran, UAE) gave BRICS control over ~44% of global oil output.

Iran’s BRICS entry strengthened the bloc’s anti-sanctions agenda and energy-security profile.

The UAE — a global logistics and financial hub — broadens BRICS’ presence in trade and finance.

Egypt’s accession bolstered Africa’s voice and boosted Mediterranean/African trade access in BRICS.

Ethiopia (host of the African Union HQ in Addis Ababa) aligns BRICS more closely with the AU agenda.

The 15th BRICS Summit in Johannesburg (August 2023) finalized invitations to the five new members.

The Johannesburg II Declaration reaffirmed support for Palestinian statehood and a two-state solution.

Russia chaired BRICS during 2024–25 and hosted the Kazan Summit in 2024.

BRICS marked 15 years of summits in 2024 (first summit was Yekaterinburg, 2009).

Pakistan is not a BRICS member but publicly supports BRICS+ expansion and de-dollarisation efforts.

Pakistan supports BRICS goals of South–South cooperation and de-dollarisation in global trade.

Pakistan’s BRICS interest is closely tied to its full membership in the SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organization).

Pakistan officially welcomed the BRICS expansion as a step toward more inclusive global governance.

In PPP terms, BRICS-10 has now surpassed the G7’s combined GDP — a major geopolitical milestone.

Combined BRICS foreign-exchange reserves total roughly $4.5 trillion — among the world’s largest.

With Saudi Arabia, Iran and UAE inside, BRICS now exerts decisive influence over global energy (oil and gas) markets.

Strategically, BRICS symbolizes a new multipolar world order led by emerging economies of the Global South.

A global Agency is an organization created with a specific mandate to perform functions or implement policy (e.g. UN specialized agencies).

Groups such as G-7 / G-20 are informal alliances for dialogue and coordination — they have no binding charter or treaty.

Organizations like the UN are formal intergovernmental bodies created by an international treaty or charter.

An Alliance such as NATO is a strategic and military partnership built on mutual defense/security obligations.

A Community such as CARICOM is a cooperative association of states sharing cultural, political or economic interests.

A Union like the EU is a deeply integrated body with shared governance, laws, currency and policies.

A Bloc is a cluster of countries acting together for shared political or economic objectives.

A Forum such as APEC is a non-binding dialogue platform — decisions are recommendations, not treaties.

A Coalition is a temporary, issue-specific partnership formed to pursue a shared action (e.g. war-time coalitions).

A regional term like MENA (Middle East & North Africa) describes a group of states by geography or business taxonomy.

Movements such as the Non-Aligned Movement are ideological or political campaigns representing collective aspirations of states or peoples.

The African Union (AU) was founded in 2002 (succeeding the OAU), uniting 55 African states, with HQ in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

AUB stands for the African Union of Broadcasting — coordinating broadcasters across the continent.

AMEA is a corporate/regional grouping standing for Asia, the Middle East and Africa.

AMER / AMERS is shorthand for the Americas — both North and South America together.

The Andean Community (CAN) is a customs union of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

ANZ is a common abbreviation for Australia and New Zealand.

ANZIT links Australia, New Zealand and Italy in a diplomatic dialogue framework.

ANZUK was a 1971–1975 defence pact among Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

APAC stands for Asia-Pacific — East, South, Southeast Asia and Oceania.

APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation) unites 21 Pacific-rim economies to promote trade liberalization and inclusive growth.

The Arab League (League of Arab States) was founded in Cairo in 1945 and currently has 22 Arab member states.

The Arab Nationalist Movement inspired both the Arab League and the Ba’ath ideology of secular Arab unity.

The Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) was founded in 1989 to integrate Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia.

ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) is headquartered in Jakarta, Indonesia.

ASEAN+3 adds China, Japan and South Korea to ASEAN.

ASEAN+6 adds India, Australia and New Zealand to ASEAN+3.

ACD = Asian Cooperation Dialogue, an inter-governmental forum of Asian states promoting regional cooperation.

The AER facilitates cooperation among sub-national regional governments across Europe.

The Association of Caribbean States (ACS) promotes collaboration among Caribbean and Central American nations.

AUKUS — covering nuclear-powered submarines and advanced defence tech — was announced in September 2021.

The Anti-Apartheid Movement was a global campaign that pressured governments and companies to end apartheid in South Africa.

The Asian Socialist Movement was a post-WWII movement that promoted democratic socialism and Asian anti-colonial solidarity.

Balkan States are in Southeastern Europe — including Serbia, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Albania, Bosnia and Greece.

The Baltic States are Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania — all NATO and EU members.

BASIC = Brazil, South Africa, India, China — a climate-negotiation bloc within the UNFCCC.

The Benelux Union joined Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg — a forerunner of the European Union.

Western Europe’s ‘Big Four’ historically refers to France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.

BIMSTEC (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan, Nepal) is for Bay of Bengal nations.

Steve Biko was the founder and key figure of the Black Consciousness Movement in 1970s South Africa.

BRIC originally stood for Brazil, Russia, India and China before South Africa joined in 2010.

South Africa joined the bloc in 2010, turning BRIC into BRICS.

BSEC is headquartered in Istanbul, Turkey.

The Bucharest Nine (B9) is a group of nine NATO members in Eastern Europe formed in 2015.

The 1944 Bretton Woods conference created the IMF and the World Bank (IBRD).

CARICOM is headquartered in Georgetown, Guyana.

CARIFTA (Caribbean Free Trade Association, 1965–1973) was the predecessor of CARICOM.

The CIS was formed in December 1991 by post-Soviet republics after the dissolution of the USSR.

CIVETS = Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Türkiye, South Africa — a ‘next-tier’ emerging-markets grouping.

Comecon (Council for Mutual Economic Assistance) was a Soviet-led economic organization of the Eastern Bloc, 1949–1991.

The Commonwealth of Nations comprises 56 mostly former British Empire territories — Pakistan and India included.

The Council of Europe is headquartered in Strasbourg, France.

It is a small alliance of de facto (partially recognized) states such as Abkhazia, South Ossetia and Transnistria.

Climate Justice frames environmental protection as inseparable from human-rights and equity concerns.

CELAC (Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) unites 33 countries to promote regional unity excluding the US/Canada.

The D-8 is a group of 8 developing Muslim-majority economies; the 8th member alongside the others is Türkiye.

The OECD’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) coordinates donor governments’ international aid policies.

The EU’s Danube Region Strategy promotes shared infrastructure and policy across the 14-country Danube basin.

The Decolonization Movement of the mid-20th century achieved political independence for dozens of colonized nations.

The Disarmament Movement shaped the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

South Sudan joined the EAC in 2016 — making it 6 members at the time (with DRC and Somalia joining later).

ECO was founded in 1985 by Iran, Pakistan and Türkiye as a successor to the older RCD.

Armenia is the 5th member of the EAEU alongside Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

The EEA extends the EU single market to Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

The Treaty of Lisbon (signed 2007, in force 1 Dec 2009) institutionalized the modern EU.

EFTA’s four members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland.

The Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum (EMGF) is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.

The Environmental Movement is popularly called the Green Movement.

The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF) promotes French language and cultural cooperation across French-speaking nations.

Five Eyes (FVEY) = Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the United States — Anglosphere intelligence sharing.

India’s Freedom Movement (1857–1947) ended British colonial rule and led to independence in 1947.

G-7 = Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and the United States.

G-20 was established in 1999 to coordinate international finance and trade after the Asian financial crisis.

The G-24 is a chapter of the G-77 that coordinates developing countries’ positions inside the IMF and World Bank.

The G-77 (now 134 members) was formed in 1964 as a coalition of developing countries inside the UN.

The G-7 became G-8 with Russia’s accession in 1997; Russia was suspended in 2014 after the Crimea annexation.

The GCC, founded in 1981, is headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The Global South Movement seeks fairer representation for developing nations in global governance.

The Green Climate Movement supports renewables and the phase-out of fossil-fuel dominance.

The post-WWII Human Rights Movement gave rise to global NGOs like Amnesty International (1961) and Human Rights Watch (1978).

IBSA = India + Brazil + South Africa, three large multi-ethnic democracies of the Global South.

The IOC unites five Indian Ocean island states: Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion (France) and Seychelles.

I2U2 (the ‘West Asian Quad’) links India, Israel, the United States and the UAE.

The labour movement led to the founding of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 1919.

The OAS is the principal political body of the Inter-American System.

The Islamic Revival Movement promotes a renewal of Islamic socio-political values across the Muslim world.

JUSCANZ = Japan, US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand — non-EU developed democracies inside the UN.

Japan-ASEAN cooperation has emphasised trade, security and regional infrastructure since 1977.

JAEAC operates under the Arab League to coordinate Arab economic policy.

Justice & Development Parties are major political forces in Morocco (PJD) and Türkiye (AKP).

The KPCS, launched in 2003, certifies that rough diamonds are not ‘conflict diamonds’ funding civil wars.

The 2016 Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol phases down HFC refrigerants — potent greenhouse gases.

The Kuwait Declaration Group addresses Gulf and Arab security and humanitarian priorities.

Kashmir Solidarity Day is observed annually on 5 February in Pakistan in support of Kashmiri self-determination.

LATAM is shorthand for Latin America — Central and South America.

LATCAR is a regional label tying Latin America with the Caribbean.

The Levant comprises Cyprus, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine and Syria — the eastern Mediterranean.

The Arab League (League of Arab States) was founded in Cairo in 1945.

The LDC Group represents the least-developed countries to push for fair trade rules and debt relief.

The PLO (Palestine Liberation Organization) is the parallel example of liberation movements in the Palestinian context.

Brazil’s Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra (MST) was founded in 1984 to advocate land reform.

The League Against Imperialism was established at a congress in Brussels in 1927.

Mercosur’s founding members in 1991 were Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

MIKTA = Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Türkiye, Australia — five middle-power democracies.

MENA = Middle East & North Africa — stretches from Morocco in the west to Iran in the east.

MEP (Middle East + Pakistan) is a regional designation that brackets Pakistan with Middle Eastern cooperation frameworks.

NATO’s Mediterranean Dialogue (1994) is a cooperation forum with non-NATO Mediterranean states.

The MSG includes Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu (plus FLNKS observer for Kanaks).

Türkiye is often grouped with Canada, Australia and South Korea as a leading ‘middle power’ in global diplomacy.

The Moral Re-Armament Movement re-branded as ‘Initiatives of Change International’.

The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt by Hassan al-Banna in 1928.

NAM was founded in 1961 in Belgrade to unite states staying neutral between the US and Soviet blocs in the Cold War.

NATO is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium.

NAFTA (1994) was replaced by USMCA (US-Mexico-Canada Agreement) on 1 July 2020.

The Nordic Council unites Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland and Finland.

NB8 cooperates on energy, digitalization and defence — particularly important since Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Goldman Sachs coined the ‘Next Eleven’ (N-11) — emerging economies expected to follow BRICs.

Nasserism — pan-Arab socialism — was inspired by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser.

CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) is the most famous of the nuclear-disarmament campaigns.

The OIC is headquartered in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Pakistan is a founding member.

The OAS is headquartered in Washington, D.C., USA.

The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) is headquartered in Paris.

The OECS unites 11 small island states of the Eastern Caribbean.

OIAS unites Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking Ibero-American nations.

OTS members: Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.

OPEC was founded in Baghdad in 1960 but is headquartered in Vienna, Austria since 1965.

OPEC+ adds non-OPEC producers such as Russia to coordinate oil-output policy.

OSCE focuses on European peace, security, arms control and democracy.

Open Balkan was launched in 2019 by Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia.

The Oppressed Nations Movement extends solidarity across Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The P5 are the five permanent UNSC members with veto power: China, France, Russia, UK and US.

The Pacific Alliance is a Latin American trade bloc of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru.

The Pan-African Movement advocated African unity and independence and inspired the OAU/AU.

The Pan-Arab Movement promoted Arab political and cultural unity against Western colonial rule.

The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was founded in 1964 to pursue Palestinian statehood.

The Paris Club is an informal group of creditor states that negotiate debt relief for indebted countries.

The Pacific Islands Forum has 18 Pacific member states.

The Pan-European Movement (1923, Coudenhove-Kalergi) helped lay the intellectual groundwork for the EU.

The People’s Solidarity Movement promotes social justice, equality and anti-globalisation.

The QUAD = Australia, India, Japan and the United States — an Indo-Pacific security dialogue.

Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZ) were established under US agreements with Jordan and Egypt to allow duty-free access to the US.

The Qatar-Turkey Supreme Strategic Committee coordinates security, investment and diplomacy.

The Quint = US + UK + France + Germany + Italy — an informal Western diplomatic coordination group.

The Quebec Sovereignty Movement seeks Quebec’s independence from Canada.

RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) — the world’s largest trade bloc — includes New Zealand.

The Rio Group was succeeded by CELAC in 2010.

RATS is the SCO’s permanent anti-terrorism body, based in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

RIMES (Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System) is headquartered in Bangkok.

Henry Dunant founded the Red Cross in 1863 in Geneva.

The Refugee Rights Movement shapes the policy framework of the UNHCR.

Saudi Arabia leads the Riyadh Declaration Cooperation Framework on Gulf-Arab coordination.

The Cuban Revolution (1959) joins the Bolshevik (1917) and Chinese (1949) revolutions among modern world-shaping events.

SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) is headquartered in Kathmandu, Nepal.

SADC is headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana.

The SCO’s permanent secretariat is in Beijing; its anti-terror RATS is in Tashkent.

SEATO (Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, 1954) was dissolved in 1977.

Lech Wałęsa led Poland’s Solidarity (Solidarność) trade-union movement against communist rule.

The Sufi Revival Movement emphasises traditional Islamic mysticism and inner spiritual purification.

China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was launched in 2013 — the Silk Road Economic Belt is its overland component.

Socialist International is headquartered in London.

The UN’s Summit of the Future (Sept 2024) focuses on multilateral governance reform.

South-South Cooperation gave rise to both the G-77 (1964) and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM, 1961).

ZOPACAS (Zone of Peace and Cooperation of the South Atlantic) was established by UNGA Resolution 41/11 in 1986.

The Nordics include Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland.

The 1992 Earth Summit was held in Rio de Janeiro, launching the global sustainable-development agenda.

NATO is the primary institutional embodiment of the Transatlantic Alliance.

The US withdrew from TPP in 2017; the remaining 11 nations re-signed it as the CPTPP in 2018.

Tiger Cub Economies = Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines — the next generation after the original Asian Tigers.

The Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC) was signed in 1976 under ASEAN as its founding political document.

The Third World Movement mobilised post-colonial nations during the Cold War era.

Turkic cultural and political cooperation is formalised under the Organization of Turkic States (OTS).

The Two-State Solution envisions an independent Palestine alongside Israel.

The Tahrir Square Movement in Cairo was the heart of Egypt’s 2011 Arab Spring uprising.

The UN currently has 193 member states (South Sudan being the newest, joined 2011).

UNESCO is headquartered in Paris.

UNICEF is the UN agency dedicated to children’s welfare worldwide.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) protects refugees and stateless persons.

UNEP is the only major UN agency headquartered in Africa — Nairobi, Kenya.

UNDP (UN Development Programme) was formed in 1965 to promote sustainable development and poverty eradication.

The Union for the Mediterranean is headquartered in Barcelona, Spain.

The UPU — one of the oldest specialised UN agencies — is based in Bern, Switzerland.

UNOOSA (UN Office for Outer Space Affairs) coordinates peaceful and sustainable use of outer space.

UN Women was established in 2010 to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women.

UNIDO (UN Industrial Development Organization) was founded in 1966 to accelerate industrialization in the developing world.

UNCTAD (UN Conference on Trade and Development) integrates developing countries into the global economy through fair trade and investment policy.

The Abraham Accords normalising UAE-Israel relations were signed in Washington, D.C. on 15 September 2020.

The Ummah Movement seeks the unity and revival of the global Muslim community.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 10 December 1948.

V4 = Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.

VISTA = Vietnam, Indonesia, South Africa, Türkiye, Argentina — coined by Kenichi Ohmae in 2006.

Vienna Conventions cover treaties, diplomatic & consular relations and environmental law (e.g. ozone layer).

Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO, UK) and the Peace Corps (USA) are flagship voluntary-service initiatives.

India launched the Voice of the Global South Summit in January 2023.

Global Vietnam Solidarity protests in the 1960s opposed the US-led Vietnam War.

Vatican diplomacy is the diplomatic arm of the Vatican City State (Holy See).

The Victims’ Rights Movement is supported by UN agencies and the International Criminal Court (ICC).