Fyodor Lukyanov Writes on the Role of BRICS in 'Time of Disorder'

July 16—Under the title: “The West Mocked BRICS for Years But Now It’s Paying Attention,” Fyodor Lukyanov, editor-in-chief of Russia in Global Affairs, writes in his Editor’s Column, “Rio showed that the bloc isn’t in crisis—it’s in transition.” Lukyanov, who is also Chairman of the Presidium of the Council on Foreign and Defense Policy, and Valdai International Discussion Club Research Director, among other posts, countered the negative spin in the trans-Atlantic world about the BRICS and the July 6-7 BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro. His feature was also published in RT on July 11.

Lukyanov notes that the world is in a transition, from the unipolar world of the Western-dominated colonial era to a new multipolar world. “The old unipolar order is fading, but its structures and reflexes remain. That is why the current moment is so peculiar—and why BRICS has become such an important indicator of the transition underway. This group of nations, for all its diversity and contradictions, reflects the emerging outlines of a world less shaped by Western control.”

In that context, he says, “The early phases of BRICS expansion, when the group was seen as vague and aspirational, were relatively easy. No one expected much. Now, the stakes are higher. America and its allies, once dismissive, are paying close attention. They are actively probing for weaknesses. This alone shows that BRICS is starting to matter.”