Prof. Macharia Munene, Professor of History and International Relations at the US International University-Africa (USIU-Africa), dismissed Western claims that Russia is isolated on the world stage, emphasizing the strong attendance at the BRICS Summit.
“The isolation is in the imagination of the West,” Prof. Munene told Sputnik Africa. “Not the rest of the world. And that’s why more and more countries have no problem dealing with Russia.”
He believes BRICS represents a powerful counterforce to Western dominance and offers a new avenue for African nations to advance their interests. “The emergence of BRICS as a counterforce is a very welcome phenomenon,” he said.
“You have all these countries who want to be in this alternative as a way of leveraging out their interests in the world arena,” Prof. Munene added.
The expert highlighted the bloc's growing economic clout, exceeding the combined GDP of the G7 industrialized economies. According to him, the fact that the “combined GDP is bigger than the G7 is a force in itself.”
“If the Europeans are suffering because of their bad economic policies and political policies, then the rest of the world wants to stay away from that and join the winning side, and BRICS is the winning side in this deal,” he said.
Prof. Munene also emphasized the significance of BRICS' move towards de-dollarization, particularly through the proposed use of digital currencies. Many policymakers would be looking for an alternative to the dollar, he said, highlighting the potential for BRICS to challenge the US currency's global dominance.
Looking to the future, Prof. Munene sees BRICS playing a critical role in reshaping the global order, particularly for emerging markets. He believes that African nations must focus on internal reform to become more attractive trade partners for BRICS.