After decades of Western economic dominance and political sway, a quiet yet pivotal shift is now unfolding in the international arena. The BRICS group-originally made up of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa-is gradually retooling itself into a credible power centre. With its latest enlargement welcoming Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Ethiopia, the bloc has moved well past the label emerging-market shorthand. Instead, it increasingly stands as a banner for an alternative global order that could, over the next decades, contest U.S. primacy and the alignment of its Western partners.

This shift reaches beyond economics. Many developing states now seek to reform global bodies, defend their sovereignty, and promote a multipolar world that limits Western hegemony. What, then, will this fresh momentum mean for global governance? Might BRICS create a new order-or will internal tensions stall its ascent?

🌍 1. What is BRICS and Why Was It Formed?

The term BRIC first appeared in a 2001 Goldman Sachs report, where economist Jim O'Neill used it to signal the growth power of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. South Africa's admission in 2010 added the S and made BRICs a legitimate diplomatic club. Its leaders meet annually to deepen trade links, coordinate policy, and present a united voice on security issues. By doing so, the group voices a long-standing frustration with the IMF and World Bank, institutions many developing countries argue still privilege richer members.

🌐 2. The 2023 Expansion – A Game Changer

During the 2023 summit in Johannesburg, BRICS formally welcomed Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Argentina-which later withdrew-and Ethiopia into its fold. This enlargement alters the blocs strategic profile, introducing powerful oil-rich Gulf states, populous African economies, and important Middle Eastern actors. Collectively, these members account for a sizeable portion of the worlds energy output, demographics, and gross domestic product. As their influence grows, BRICS hears a louder Southern voice in conversations about the future of global governance.

🛢️ 3. Resource Power: The Energy Card

With Saudi Arabia, Russia, Iran, and the Emirates now seated together, the expanded bloc embraces four of the planets foremost energy producers. Taken as a unit, they command a large majority of remaining crude and natural gas reserves. In an era when Western nations pursue greener alternatives, that concentration offers BRICS real leverage over pricing, supply chains, and investment signals. Musings about an internal trading platform or settlements in members own currencies raise the spectre of undermining the dollar-centred petrodollar arrangement that enshrined American financial power for decades.

💸 4. De-Dollarization: A Bold Ambition

A central and ambitious goal of the BRICS bloc is de-dollarization-reducing the worlds dependence on the US dollar in cross-border commerce. This strategy includes discussing a common BRICS currency and encouraging more bilateral agreements that use members local moneys. Though these ideas are still early-stage, they could slowly chip away at the dollar hegemony, especially in developing countries that resent American sanctions or unpredictable monetary shifts. A workable rival to SWIFT and dollar-denominated trade would therefore move financial clout eastward.

🏦 5. The New Development Bank: BRICS' Answer to IMF/World Bank

To advance its development agenda, BRICS launched the New Development Bank, with its headquarters in Shanghai. In contrast to the IMF and World Bank, the NDB extends loans while imposing far fewer geopolitical conditions and ideological demands. The institution finances infrastructure and green projects not only within member states but also in emerging economies worldwide. By welcoming new shareholders, the bank steadily broadens capital reserves and regional coverage. Over time, this lender could develop into a trusted gateway for nations seeking alternatives to Western funding.

⚖️ 6. Challenging Western Political Norms

BRICS pushes more than the Western economic playbook; it tests the very ideas that ground that playbook. Member states lean heavily on respect for sovereignty, a strict non-intervention stance, and a call for a genuinely multipolar world-far from the pre-emptive doctrines that often shape NATO missions. China and Russia routinely counter dominant Western takes on democracy or human rights by invoking alternative cultural stories. That counter-narrative now resonates with a rising number of countries across Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

🌏 7. Internal Contradictions: The Achilles Heel?

Yet agreeing on what to challenge is not the same as agreeing on what to do. India and China still glare across their border, and the Ukraine conflict has locked Russia under Western sanctions that hurt its own partners. Beyond flashpoints like these, regimes within BRICS stretch from electoral democracies to tighter autocratic grips, and that gradient shades how each state measures progress and risk. These gaps spawn differing priorities and, some analysts fear, threaten to splinter the group before it achieves real leverage. The blocs durability will hinge on its leaders finding ways to downplay, rather than ignore, those tensions while still presenting the world with a plausible united front.

🤝 8. A Voice for the Global South

BRICS biggest asset lies in its growing credibility among the Global South-those nations long shut out of formal power circles. By adding new members, the group makes clear that it wants to carry Africa's, Latins Americas, and some Asiatic voices into high-stakes talks. After COVID-19 and the economic tremors of recent wars, many of these states crave options beyond Western-led frameworks. In this context, BRICS fresh platform is gradually reshaping notions of twenty-first-century cooperation.

🛰️ 9. Geopolitical Ripple Effects

An enlarged BRICS will almost certainly stir reactions from todays top powers. The United States and European Union may shore up familiar groupings like the G7 or even NATO to counterbalance the new bloc. Regional flashpoints could then turn into proxy contests for influence, drawing in both big and small states. For these smaller nations, the choice of siding openly or walking a tightrope will become more pressing. In the end, while BRICS expansion makes the scene messier and more competitive, it could also spread power around more evenly.

🔮 10. The Road Ahead: New World Order or New Club?

The future role of BRICS in global governance will be determined by its capacity to harmonize the distinct interests of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, mend existing fractures, and produce concrete results that resonate beyond rhetorical statements. Its bid to counter Western primacy is sincere, yet internal rivalries, uneven institutional capacity, and scarce financial scaffolding still obscure the path ahead. Whatever the outcome, one fact is undeniable: the era of unquestioned unipolarity is receding. In its stead, BRICS proposes a model anchored in collective authority, regional dynamism, and a potentially more pluralistic order.