TOM O'CONNOR
While much has been said about the emergence of a more "multipolar" world order, far less attention has been paid in the United States, and the West more generally, to the actual causes and consequences of a trend that is gaining traction across many parts of the globe.
Most recently, evidence of this shift was apparent during the recent BRICS summit hosted by South Africa alongside fellow member states China, Brazil, India and Russia. Beijing and Moscow predictably used the annual gathering as an opportunity to deliver swipes at the U.S., portraying the country as a hegemonic power unwilling to contend with emerging forces on the world stage.
But perhaps more consequential were discussions held by all five BRICS countries to expand the informal economic coalition.
At least 23 candidates are believed to have applied to join BRICS, reportedly including Algeria, Argentina, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bolivia, Cuba, Egypt, Ethiopia, Honduras, Indonesia, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Morocco, Nigeria, the Palestinian National Authority, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Venezuela and Vietnam.
Of these nations, the six to officially receive invitations to join, as of Thursday, are Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
What an expanded "BRICS+" may look like remains uncertain, as does the bloc's future ability to manage major internal differences among member states. What is becoming clearer, however, is an emerging common vision to establish alternative financial and trade institutions independent of those led by the West.
These aspirations have emerged out of a climate of frustration with existing options for development assistance among the countries of the Global South and, when it comes to Washington's foreign policy, the use of sanctions. While proving less immediately destabilizing than military intervention, such economic restrictions have not produced a successful track record in forcing target nations to rethink policies deemed undesirable by the U.S. In fact, they may actually be helping to inspire a new global financial architecture immune to such measures.
This campaign remains in its nascent stages, but current and aspiring BRICS members have already pushed efforts to conduct bilateral trade in an effort to bypass the U.S. dollar, which also brings with it high transactions costs. These conversations have also regularly included the notion of establishing a new BRICS currency.
Each country has its own motivations for realizing such a transformation, many of which have little to do with challenging U.S. dominance. But the potential for serious strategic implications for Washington is clearly present.
The admittance of top energy exporters Iran and Saudi Arabia into such a scheme alongside top energy consumers China and India could foster more resilient trade relationships. Notably, since a Beijing-brokered deal saw rivals Riyadh and Tehran reestablish diplomatic ties in March, Iran has finalized its membership in another bloc, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and Saudi Arabia has formalized its relationship with the SCO as well.
Much as the unprecedented ties between China and Russia were long dismissed as a "marriage of convenience," the prospect of even less familiar coalitions mounting a concerted threat to U.S. influence has yet to be taken seriously by mainstream policymaking circles in Washington.
But given the vast interest in BRICS among countries across Asia, Africa and Latin America, the extent to which Washington takes such calls for reform of the international order seriously may ultimately determine just how much of a say the U.S. gets when it actually emerges.
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