The Introduction of a BRICS Currency and Its Impact on the International Financial Architecture
Abstract
The idea of a joint BRICS currency emerges from a growing tension within the global financial order. The dominance of the US dollar is no longer perceived as neutral but as an instrument of structural power. Within this environment, BRICS member states seek to expand their autonomy. Their monetary initiative is not limited to questions of transaction cost or technical efficiency. It reflects a broader dissatisfaction with existing financial hierarchies and signals a desire to reshape the terms of international exchange. The proposal carries symbolic weight. It challenges existing narratives and introduces an alternative vocabulary of economic sovereignty. This study analyses the structural and political conditions under which such a currency might develop. Methodologically, it is based on a qualitative document analysis of publicly accessible policy papers, declarations, and expert publications. The underlying question is not whether a currency will be implemented, but how its possibility alters the imagination of monetary order. This study analyses the structural and political conditions under which such a currency might develop. It explores institutional asymmetries, conflicting policy priorities, and limitations in trust and governance. Rather than assuming linear progression, the analysis considers friction, inconsistency, and competing expectations among BRICS members. Pilot projects and institutional frameworks are examined, not as functional endpoints, but as provisional experiments. The underlying question is not whether a currency will be implemented, but how its possibility alters the imagination of monetary order. Findings suggest that the initiative, even in its early form, already alters expectations within the international system. Its operational viability remains uncertain. Yet its political resonance extends beyond technical feasibility. What is at stake is not only who controls money, but who defines its meaning and function within a contested multipolar world.
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