Rising Powers and International Institutions: Roles and Tasks Parallel to Western International Cooperation Institutions

Abstract

The international system is undergoing profound transformations, marked by the rise of new powers such as China, India, Brazil, and Russia. These nations no longer accept marginalization in international decision-making and have established their own blocs and institutions to reflect their growing influence. Prominent examples include BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), and ASEAN. These institutions aim to offer alternatives to traditional Western institutions like the G7, NATO, the IMF, and the World Bank, but they do not necessarily intend to replace them entirely. Rather, they seek to build a parallel structure that reflects a new distribution of power and expands the options available to developing countries.

The international system is witnessing profound transformations, characterized by the rise of new powers such as China, India, Brazil, and Russia.

In the economic sphere, these powers established the BRICS New Development Bank as an alternative financing instrument, providing loans for infrastructure projects without political preconditions. They also work to reduce reliance on the dollar through settlements in national currencies and have established major trade networks such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which encompasses a third of global trade. In the security sphere, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) has developed mechanisms to combat terrorism and extremism based on the principles of sovereignty and non-interference, linking security to development, in contrast to the Western model of military alliances. At the normative and value-based level, these institutions propose alternative concepts of governance, sovereignty, and human rights that focus on economic and social rights and reject Western political conditionality, thus challenging Western normative hegemony.

This rapid development contributes to accelerating the shift towards a multipolar international system, where power is no longer the sole domain of the West. These new institutions create a state of "institutional dualism" that allows developing countries broader options in their international relations and provides a platform for collective pressure to reform existing global governance institutions such as the Security Council and the International Monetary Fund.