Can the Global South reshape the global economic order? And can BRICS become a platform for building alternatives to the existing system?

In the 6th episode of the Vienna Global Forum podcast series, Ana Elisa Saggioro Garcia joins hosts Anamaria Copilau and Magnus Ryner to discuss the changing configuration of global power and the possibilities - and limits - of Global South cooperation.

The conversation explores the evolution of the BRICS, from its initial focus on gaining greater voice and voting power within existing international institutions to its more recent development as a platform for experimenting with alternative forms of global economic cooperation.

But can BRICS really provide the basis for a new international economic order?

Ana Garcia examines the tensions within the Global South and challenges the idea that it is automatically a progressive political force. She discusses the different interests of its members, the role of China, and the difficulties of building a coalition capable of challenging existing structures of global governance.

The discussion also returns to some of the central concerns of the NIEO: economic sovereignty, state capacity, technology, development, control over natural resources, and the redistribution of power within international institutions.

Among the questions explored are:

🔹Can the Global South become a more influential force in global governance?
🔹Is BRICS capable of creating meaningful alternatives to the existing international economic system?
🔹Should countries seek to reform existing institutions - or build new ones?
🔹What role does China play in reshaping global economic relations?
🔹Can greater financial autonomy reduce dependence on the US dollar?
🔹Why does state capacity remain crucial for economic and social development?
🔹Could critical minerals and the energy transition create a new source of leverage for resource-rich countries?
🔹What can today's Global South learn from the NIEO and the experience of OPEC?

The conversation also highlights an important opportunity emerging from the global energy transition. Demand for critical minerals and rare earths could give resource-rich countries new leverage - but only if they can coordinate politically and use these resources to build greater economic power and productive capacity.

Guest: Ana Elisa Saggioro Garcia, Associate Researcher at the BRICS Policy Center and Professor at the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro

📍Episode 6 of the Vienna Global Forum podcast series: Lessons from the New International Economic Order

📌 Learn more about the Vienna Global Forum: www.viennaglobalforum.org