Although not as militarily formidable or symbolically imposing as the Warsaw Pact once stood against NATO in Europe, the emerging BRICS alliance is becoming a significant counterweight to the West’s reckless misuse of power under the NATO umbrella. In the lead-up to the BRICS summit in Kazan on October 22, Russian President Vladimir Putin remarked that in the future, the bulk of the world’s economic activity will be driven by BRICS nations rather than NATO. On the surface, this claim appears far from inaccurate.
BRICS has brought together some of the fastest-growing economies in the world, and discussions around economic sovereignty and the creation of a separate currency are gaining traction. The fact that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Pakistan echoed many of the themes from the BRICS agenda highlights the global desire for an alternative world order, one where economic sovereignty is prioritised over the interests of a single nation and its economy. Likewise, the willingness of many global leaders—including nominal allies of the West, such as India and the United Arab Emirates—to attend the BRICS summit in Russia demonstrates that the West’s efforts to isolate Russia and portray it as a global pariah have largely failed.
Russia not only boasts a resilient economy, having found ways to circumvent US sanctions, but it has also gained political capital among neutral countries that view NATO expansionism with as much concern as Russia’s defensive actions. A meeting in Russia with leaders from across the globe represents a major symbolic victory for Moscow. The question now is how vigorously BRICS will move to turn its long-standing discussions into concrete policies, solidifying the alliance’s growing influence on the global stage.