The international system that emerged after the Second World War was anchored in a set of largely stable, interlocking principles, notably, territorial inviolability, a US-led security architecture, a rules-based multilateral framework, an open economic order centred on Western financial institutions, and normative commitments to human rights and self-determination.

The BRICS alliance—originally composed of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—has evolved from a symbolic economic acronym into a potentially transformative geopolitical bloc.