ECONOMIC LENS
Role of BRICS in reshaping global economic order
By Mohammadreza Hosseini Aliabad
Researcher in int'l economics
BRICS is no longer merely the name of a group of emerging economies. It has become one of the most significant symbols of structural dissatisfaction with the existing global economic order. The central question today is not whether BRICS can completely replace the West, but why a large part of the world is seeking to develop mechanisms beyond the traditional orbit of economic power. The answer lies in the widening gap between the realities of the global economy and institutions that still largely reflect the balance of power of past decades.
The post-World War II economic order was built around institutions that played a decisive role in reconstructing the global economy. Yet today’s world is no longer the world of the late 1940s. The center of gravity of production, trade, energy, capital, and population is gradually shifting, while emerging economies are demanding a greater role in global affairs. BRICS should be understood as a product of this transformation—a transformation with profound political and geoeconomic consequences.
One of the most controversial issues is the role of the US dollar. Many analyses portray BRICS efforts to expand the use of national currencies as the beginning of the end of dollar dominance. Reality, however, is more complex. The dollar’s position is supported by extensive financial networks, deep capital markets, global confidence, and the historical strength of the American economy. Speaking of the imminent end of the dollar is more of a political slogan than an economic analysis. Nevertheless, efforts to create alternative payment channels indicate that the world is moving toward greater currency diversification. The issue may not be the elimination of the dollar, but rather the reduction of its monopoly—a subtle distinction that could prove highly consequential.
BRICS faces a major contradiction along this path. Its members share common concerns regarding the concentration of global economic power, yet they differ considerably in terms of national interests, foreign policy priorities, economic structures, and bilateral relations. How can a new economic order be envisioned when its prospective architects have not yet reached full consensus on practical mechanisms of cooperation? This question represents the most significant challenge facing BRICS.
The New Development Bank can be regarded as one of BRICS’ most significant efforts to move beyond rhetoric toward institution building. Expanding capacity to finance development projects can strengthen the bargaining power of member states. Yet no new economic order can be created merely by establishing a financial institution. A new order emerges when investor confidence, financial infrastructure, economic transparency, and predictability are developed on a broad and sustainable scale. If BRICS fails to strengthen these foundations, it may remain more of a forum for expressing dissatisfaction than a genuine force for transformation.
The expansion of BRICS also presents two contrasting dimensions. On the one hand, an increase in membership can enhance the group’s demographic, energy, and economic weight while amplifying the voice of the Global South. On the other hand, greater diversity among members may make coordination increasingly difficult.
BRICS now faces a fundamental question: does it seek to become a broad but heterogeneous coalition, or a cohesive bloc with clearly defined economic objectives? The answer will determine its real future.
Despite all these uncertainties, one fact cannot be ignored: the global economic order is changing. A combination of simultaneous developments—from strategic competition between China and the United States to trade wars, energy crises, economic sanctions, the growth of the digital economy, and the expanding role of the Global South—suggests that the era of unquestioned concentration of global economic power is gradually coming to an end.
BRICS may not yet possess the capacity to construct a fully alternative economic order, but it has brought a major question to the center of global debate: should the rules of the international economy continue to be written primarily by the same powers that shaped the world of previous decades, or has the time come for new realities to be reflected more fully in international decision-making?
Perhaps the greatest achievement of BRICS so far has not been the creation of a common currency, the displacement of the dollar, or the establishment of institutions designed to rival Western structures. Rather, its most significant achievement may be challenging the assumption that the existing economic order is immutable. BRICS has reminded the world that economic power is not a fixed reality. As production, trade, technology, population, and energy resources evolve, the rules of the game will inevitably evolve as well.
The central contest of the future may emerge between two competing visions of the global economy. The first seeks to preserve traditional structures of power, while the second calls for a broader distribution of opportunity, representation, and economic decision-making. BRICS is not yet the final answer to this contest, but it is undoubtedly one of its most important arenas.
The fundamental question is whether this group can transform its considerable potential into genuine institutional power or whether it will become entangled in the complexities of its internal differences. The answer will shape not only the future of BRICS, but also an important part of the future global economic order.