BRICS’ 2025 expansion—with six new full members and several partner nations—marks a drive toward multipolarity and challenges the Western financial order by stepping up its own institutions and currency diversification.
The BRICS bloc is undergoing a major transformation as its 2025 expansion introduces new member states and “partner countries”, signalling a significant shift in global power dynamics.
Originally founded in 2009 to challenge Western-dominated institutions, BRICS has added six new full members—Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates—bringing its total to eleven, while also introducing a “partner country” tier for states like Belarus and Kazakhstan.
This enlargement not only accelerates the push for a multipolar world and de-dollarisation (with the New Development Bank planning its first rupee-denominated bond issue by March 2026) but also raises questions about whether major powers can manage competition through cooperation or risk escalating geopolitical conflict.