There is no such thing as an island of power; power is typically attained by possessing a great deal of knowledge along with additional resources like labour, capital, and raw materials for the aim of discovering and seizing chances for bigger gains. Prior to modernization, countries all over the world engaged in trade and cultural exchanges with the aim of capturing value that could not be created due to the previously mentioned lack of resources and knowledge. 

Then, historical analyses show that prior to participating in cross-socioeconomic and political activities, political leaders hardly ever emphasized the newly adopted approaches—unipolar, bipolar, and multipolar. But over time, the concepts of true friendship in geopolitics have been steadily undermined by modernization and the many ideologies of political leaders, which frequently influence international policies and initiatives of states. The three strategies, also referred to as geopolitical systems, govern more than only the interactions between political leaders. The systems are also essential to the planning and implementation of cross-border commercial partnerships. 

According to a number of sources, the world saw bipolarity during the Cold War era, with the US and the USSR as the two superpowers; however, unipolarity resulted from the conclusion of the Cold War, with the US emerging as the only superpower in the world in the 1990s and 2000s. In certain cases, geopolitical experts think that the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall marked a unipolar moment.

Twelve years later, in 2001, economist Jim O’Neill of Goldman Sachs invented the term BRIC to refer to a group of emerging markets—Brazil, Russia, India, and China—that are expanding quickly and have the potential to challenge the G-7 industrialized economies’ economic hegemony. The group’s first official summit took place in 2009, and South Africa joined in 2010 to form BRICS.

The Growth of Multipolarity: The Case of BRICS

Ever since South Africa was admitted as the fifth member, individuals and groups from a variety of sectors have continued to be interested in the concept of a multipolar world. The decision by some of the established members to welcome new members from the Global South’s fast expanding economies has made the multipolar world debate more appealing. People outside of the geopolitical arena are likely to profit from the new geopolitical system, whether it be BRIC, BRICS, or BRICS+. This is especially true for the population of the nations who are marginalized or undervalued by those that continue to adhere to the previous geopolitical systems. 

Commentators feel that multilateralism will become even more powerful as political and commercial sectors continue to look for solutions to the various global issues that plague the world, given the aggressive transformation of the BRIC countries. This is based on the idea that a multipolar system defends the rights of smaller countries to exist as equal partners in the global economy and to possess true economic growth, rather than viewing them as the underdogs. 

With the approval of the new members, our analyst adds that more nations are emerging as centers of multipolar geopolitical structure as the world aspires for mutual cooperation, collaboration and benefits. These will bring about a more sustainable industrial revolution as well as industrialization, innovation, and digitization. 

Strengthening Multipolarity

One nation merits recognition even as discussions about the new system rage on. Russia has continuously distinguished itself in the midst of many storms by establishing and spearheading diverse discourses on how nations ought to respect one another as the world looks for answers to shared issues. Russia has consistently used summits and a variety of national and international fora to have thought-provoking talks in order to successfully push narratives across the system.

Over the past five years, political and business leaders from Russia have explained to other countries and their business leaders that ideological, political, and cultural differences should not be the reason for isolating any nation. This has been done both inside and outside of Russia’s borders. Over the years, Moscow and St. Petersburg have served as discussion hubs for the system with a collaborative focus on co-value creation and capture. Great political and economic leaders have congregated on platforms offered by the two cities to discuss issues ranging from health to education, technology to agriculture and security, and the future of the multipolar system in geopolitics. 

The topic of Russian language propagation in the multilateral platform’s member states was covered at one of the platforms; in particular, the necessity of advancing Russian linguistic and cultural diplomacy in Argentina, Algeria, Morocco, China, and India was highlighted.

The intervention of Émile Perfect SIMB, a well-known industrialist in the finance and crypto-currencies sector, owner of the SIMB GROUP and also President of the African Organization of Russophony, was noted. “It is important for us Africans to learn the Russian language, because it represents an opportunity for development, it allows African students to acquire specialized and qualified skills, we work to build a relationship of equals and mutual benefits with Moscow, even in university education, Russian citizens can study the languages of our continent, and vice versa African students can learn the language of Pushkin,” notes the famous exponent of the African financial environment.

It was emphasized: “any type of relationship between states can be developed through cultural diplomacy, knowledge of the language, the history of the civilization, specific particularities, in a climate of good neighborhood, because it is precisely the diplomacy of the first contact, such as culture, which generates trust, which is then transformed into business, commercial and financial opportunities.”