November 2025
The set dilemma refers to the grouping of countries in a form of joint action which, after seven centuries of a Eurocentric world defined by imperialism and colonialism, for now, does not include Europe, the up to recently global hegemon, the US. In this context, it imposes the need to understand the position of the BRICS form in a situation when the development of a new world order is underway. This text deals with the issue of the real systemic capacity and the range of influence of the BRICS format on contemporary international relations, not only in terms of norms, through the development of multi-polarity and the change of global institutions, but also in a practical sense of the world, through new financial instruments, market cooperation, and diplomatic initiatives. The accent is put exactly on what this grouping represents for the countries that participate in them geostrategic, geo-economically, and politically, including the international legal status of BRICS as well.
The position of BRICS is an interesting research topic because we are speaking of a multilateral form that gathers eleven big developing economies, which together represent around 49.5% of the global population, around 40% of global GDP, and about 26% of world trade. This means they have an economic and demographic potential to pose a potential challenge to the domination of the “Global West”.
Upon examining the dynamics of development of BRICS from its foundation to its current state, it becomes clear that this platform surpasses the framework of the initial economic form and becomes one of the key holders of the transformation of the global order. The growth of demographic, economic, political, and energy force of the members of this alliance enables BRICS to represent a relevant center of power nowadays, which acts as a counterbalance to the West-centric structures of projection of influence. With this, the cumulative economic and demographic potential of the members of this format is confirmed, thus making BRICS one of the most significant factors in challenging the domination of the “Global West”, with a capacity to influence the creation of a more just and multipolar international order.
The BRICS expansion process, which intensified in the last decade and culminated in 2024 with the acceptance of five new states, is especially significant. The expansion represents not only a quantitative increase in the number of members, but also a clear indicator that this organization attracts countries that seek a higher level of autonomy in the global system, and thus wish to articulate their own interests outside the institutional channels that were, for a long time, dominated by the US and the EU. Therefore, the growth of political and geopolitical influence of BRICS directly comes from the format expansion process, which gives this alliance not only new force, but also a higher level of legitimacy as a representative of countries outside the Western circle of power.
In parallel with that, the internal economic mechanisms developed by BRICS, including the New Development Bank, the Foreign Exchange Reserve Fund, and the system of contractual calculations in national currencies, point to the intention to introduce into the international financial system a sustainable alternative to the dollar as a dominant currency of the global flows. From the standpoint of international economic architecture, these processes speak of a structural attempt to reconfigure the financial dependence, reduce the influence of one center of power, and incite the transition to a multi-currency system. The development of payment and credit mechanisms of BRICS represents a clearly envisaged and long-term attempt to create an alternative channel of financial functioning that would not be conditioned with dollar calculations, which, in perspective, can lead to the reduction of the dollar’s monopoly and influence the changed balance in the international economy.
In total, BRICS grew from the initial symbolic economic concept into a significant mechanism of strategic coordination, influence, and institutional action, which positions it as one of the most significant holders of the process of global political and economic reallocation of power in the twenty-first century.
Author: Marija Durlević, student research