DANIEL DREZNER: 2013 Has Been A Tough Year For The BRICs.

Late last year, Ruchir Sharma wrote a short essay for Foreign Affairs in which he said, “no idea has done more to muddle thinking about the global economy than that of the BRICs.” Sharma meant that too many pundits were buying growth extrapolations as gospel, when it turned out that the state capitalism model embraced by some of these countries might have a few flaws in it. And indeed, the announcement this week that China has decided to, “conduct a broad audit of debts incurred by government agencies” is a data point in Sharma’s favor.

There’s a related point about the BRICs that gets lost in the mist, however — they’re also behind the curve when it comes to their diplomacy.

Well, so are we, these days.