BRICS and SCO build new multilateralism without leaders and subordinates, expert says

Source: Brasil 247 | Original Published At: 2026-09-20 05:22:23 UTC

Key Points

• Andrei Kortunov said BRICS, SCO and APEC are contributing to a new model of multilateralism based on consensus and without formal leader-subordinate hierarchies.
• He contrasted this model with NATO, which he described as formally multilateral but largely an instrument of U.S. policy.
• Kortunov said the new multilateralism is still forming and faces difficulties, but represents a change in how countries with different interests organize their relations.
• Russian President Vladimir Putin at the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi described BRICS as a key force for strengthening multipolarity.
• Putin said BRICS principles attract more countries because they emphasize consensus, international law and the UN Charter.
• BRICS expansion has increased political, economic, cultural and geographic diversity, making common positions more complex.
• Kortunov said managing differences without formal hierarchy is a defining feature of the emerging model.