GEAB 192

The BRICS’ difficulties in building a suitably influential financial system can be explained by their internal divisions. In 2026, we expect Asia to take over and lay the foundations for a new regional financial order. In the face of Western control and extraterritorial sanctions, the major Asian powers will create independent infrastructures of international importance.

A dominance that’s hard to challenge

For over a decade now, the BRICS alliance has been striving to build an alternative to the world order that is still largely dominated by the West. On the financial and economic fronts, however, the West remains dominant thanks to strong, much-demanded currencies (the dollar retains its hegemony, and the euro is still in second place), as well as ultra-efficient and sophisticated financial systems (in particular the SWIFT system). They use this advantage, particularly the United States, to exert coercive force, mainly through international sanctions (Iran in 2014, Russia in 2022, etc.). However, the weakness of the BRICS is not only linked to the strength of the West, which is steadily weakening under the weight of increasing debt, growing political instability and persistent social tensions. It is also due to the divergences between the countries of the so-called “South”, whether cultural, political or economic, as well as their close links with certain Western powers (particularly Brazil and India).