Hamid Khoshayand, Regional Affairs Expert

Although the new world order is in the “transition stage” and has not reached the stabilization stage, the arrangements, equations, and new developments in recent years have given it more momentum.

Changing the shape and nature of transregional and international alliances (replacing strategic alliances with thematic and geopolitical alliances), new political and economic discourses, emerging countries, organizations, and alliances, and the transfer of the center of power from the West to Asia are among the “main indicators” of the emerging order.

The BRICS group is one of the important non-Western mechanisms that play a prominent and effective role in the “disruption” of the previous order and the formation of a new order worldwide.

BRICS, currently one of the “most powerful” non-Western blocs, with more than 40 countries expressing interest in permanent membership, owns 45% of the population and territories (Group of Seven has less than 7% of the world’s population), 26% of the economy, 35.6% of the gross domestic product (more than the 30.3% share of the Group of Seven), 40% in oil production, 50% in gas reserves and 30% of the world’s water resources.

Although BRICS is not an organization in the literal sense and still operates within the framework of a “group,” it has effective “economic and political levers” that have “challenged” the previous world order in recent years and turned this group into a key, effective and decisive mechanism in accelerating and facilitating the process of realizing the new order.

The 16th BRICS summit, recently held in Kazan, Russia, with the participation of officials from 33 countries, including the Islamic Republic of Iran and the leaders of the top southern countries, opened a new perspective for the world that cannot be ignored by strengthening political and economic multilateralism.

What added to the recent summit’s importance was that it was held in the midst of new developments in the region and the world. It was also the first meeting of the group of major emerging economies, including Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, since this group was formed at the beginning of this year. The group expanded and included Iran, Egypt, UAE, and Ethiopia.

Unlike the previous summits, the recent BRICS summit was the center of attention of political and media circles and public opinion worldwide as a “political and economic weight against the West.”

Although all BRICS meetings and statements emphasize the order based on the United Nations Charter and multilateralism based on common interests, BRICS has a new approach that emphasizes the “reform” of Western-based governmental and non-governmental arrangements and mechanisms centered on the United States; this issue was also clearly evident in the recent BRICS meeting.

In the sense that BRICS, within the framework of “positive” and not “negative” policies, without violating or opposing the principles and order-building components based on the United Nations Charter, is looking for new arrangements that govern political, economic, and security paradigms. And… it challenges America and the liberal system in the current world. In this regard, BRICS does not focus on the issue of “security” and does not want to be known as a security mechanism. Therefore, it mainly focuses on economic, commercial, and political issues.

At the recent meeting in Kazan, BRICS showed that it has realistic solutions to resolve regional and international conflicts, especially in West Asia, including in the issue of Palestine, Lebanon, Yemen, curbing terrorism and confronting it, as well as global financial issues that their realization can be considered a good prospect in the future peace and security of the world and speed up the process of realizing the new order by overcoming the existing obstacles and challenges.

Although BRICS is still facing different views of its members on some issues, such as reducing dependence on the US dollar as a global reserve currency and India’s opposition to the expansion of membership of other countries, these differences of views cannot harm the “effective role” of BRICS in the new world order and in changing the balance of power or reduce its importance.

The fact that many countries in the South, even at the cost of challenging America and the West, request to join BRICS is a testimony to the fact that the current order ruling the world is no longer the answer to the existing problems and the developing countries and the South, which are at the bottom of the order pyramid and are unable to play a significant and proportional role in the international order and its developments, to “benefit more” in the new order and get rid of the political and economic domination of the West, they are already seeking to gain a favorable share and position in the new order.

The economy and sovereignty of the US dollar are the most important components of the power of America and Europe in the current order.

This is even though in the last few years, BRICS, by trying to create a new infrastructure for trade and money transfer using national currencies instead of the US dollar and the common currency, has become a serious challenge to the most important element of American supremacy and hegemony, i.e., “the US dollar and the sanctions.”

In addition to the “potential” capacities and capabilities it enjoys and owning a major part of the world’s power and wealth, BRICS is also active in other fields and has significant levers to implement a new order in the world. In this regard, mention can be made of the following: the formation of a foreign exchange reserve fund to protect members from currency and monetary fluctuations caused by unilateral sanctions of Western countries, the establishment of the New Development Bank to help the growth and development of southern countries, the creation of BRICS infrastructure in line with the idea of ​​dollarization.