Globalization and Public Relations in Postcolonial Nations: Chal ...

on who is doing the categorization, anywhere from about 20 to 35 countries constitute emerging economies, which used to be known as “less economically developed countries” until the economic world agreed that a more favorable term was needed. Besides Indonesia, mentioned in the previous section as an aspiring BRIC, common members of this group include Mexico, Chile, and Malaysia. The term transitional economies refers to those countries emerging from a controlled, centrally planned system to a free-market economy. Demonstrating the fluidity of these categories are Poland, Hungary, and Romania; some economists include these nations in the emerging market category to indicate that their transition has been successful and their economies are growing.

The common thread that binds these groups is change—all are undergoing change, driven by a desire for increased influence and recognition. Their circumstances vary widely, however, both within and between groups.

Emerging Economies: Influence and Structural Adjustment

For the emerging nations, the stakes for recognition are high because the larger the economy, the greater the chance of influencing global policy. For example, in Southeast Asia the largest economy is Indonesia, which is a member of the recently formed G20 group, giving it more recognition and power on the global economic stage. Malaysia, by contrast, has aspired for years to be at the top of the Southeast Asia region only to have its economy occasionally contract and its hopes derailed. The announcement in November 2010 that Malaysia’s economy had fallen behind Singapore’s caused many Malaysians to wonder how a small state with fewer natural resources could surpass them and what that would do their relative world standing (Kok, 2010).

Despite regional infighting caused in part by religious and ethnic diversity, these three nations, along with the Philippines and Thailand, founded ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) in 1967 to guide regional economic and political development. The members’ early