What it could do is help create more super powers, most likely. Russia and China are desperate for energy resources (although both do have some resources, but want to "husband" what they currently have, much like the US) to develop their nations further. India and Brasil have them. Other countries who have them but don't have the money or expertise to develop them will probably be welcome to borrow money and allow the governments of BRIC (instead of at least having some separation between governments and companies like the US and many member nations of the EU currently do who help develop oil resources) to help develop their resources - so Russia and China can benefit, at whatever terms they come up with.
I was involved in the oil industry for about ten years, the 90s, and saw lots of people try to bring expertise and equipment to Russia. Every project turned out a disaster and in more than one Russia confiscated the equipment after their experts had been trained and kicked the experts out. US, Norwegian and UK companies were all involved that I knew of. Venezuela did the same thing on a bigger scale at one point, and when the companies came back in they were under constant threat of the same treatment. Brasil did much better than either Russia or Venezuela, but there were often many problems there as well, including the whole issue where Brasil apparently lied about its explored resources and caused a huge shift in world-wide exploration equipment to be screwed up on scheduling, contracts were messed up, etc (not to mention labor laws that are as bad, with all the effects, as Argentina). At least in China and India they were much more reasonable and professional (although I remember one time when I visited one of our drilling rigs in India, 1994, I had my camera confiscated in the heliport because of "state secrets" - even though the technology, rig and management crew belonged to us - maybe they were worried about the beautiful, but largely empty, landscape we flew over for about 10 minutes before passing over water). Maybe things have changed quite a bit in these countries since I left the oil industry...but personally, I wouldn't bet on it.
Instead of developing more super powers, let's get rid of what there is now and let's let countries start depending on getting themselves in order and not offer the temptation of outside cash to allow corrupt governments to pocket the money and screw their people over. Funneling money into countries with such large-scale corruption is not going to change things, in my opinion, just make them clients of the "new" guys, who won't be any better than the "old". I don't know what the answer is, but as an example, continuing to loan money to Argentina, with the mindset that large parts of Argentina have related to corruption and the idea that they are somehow "owed" things is to me much like the US invading Iraq and trying to create a democratic government in an area that should never have been a single country to begin with, among people who are not ready for the concept of democratic government, at least the way the US sees such things. Such changes have to come from within, with their own struggle to achieve it, not forced from the outside.
I don't know. I think it would be great if the US/EU had some competition, at least in the short term, and that BRIC and its development funds would really make a difference in a good way. I just don't see it, personally.
