This article examines the rise of the Global South through the institutional evolution of BRICS as a transformative force within the international economic system. It argues that contemporary global shifts cannot be adequately explained by 20th-century frameworks rooted in theories of neocolonialism and therefore require a revised analytical paradigm. Drawing on world-systems theory, Development Studies, and related scholarly frameworks, this study demonstrates that BRICS functions simultaneously as a geopolitical counter-pole to the West and as the institutional core of an emerging geoeconomic order. Using IMF and UNCTAD datasets, it highlights the accelerating pace of South-South economic integration. By applying the principles of world-systems theory, the analysis posits that the structural decline of Western economic dominance necessitates a reassessment of Immanuel Wallerstein’s core–periphery model, signalling the emergence of an unprecedented global geoeconomic architecture in which the core status of Western economies is increasingly questioned by BRICS countries. The article substantiates this argument through statistical evidence and an examination of ongoing scholarly debates concerning the future trajectory of the Global South.
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