Introduction

This introductory chapter highlights how the current international order is undergoing profound transformations that demand new analytical frameworks to be properly understood. On one hand, the Liberal International Order (LIO) appears increasingly in crisis, unable to effectively respond to global challenges that require coordinated, transnational solutions. Conceived within a post-World War II logic and primarily shaped by Western powers—namely, the US and the EU, particularly its Atlanticist component—the LIO now shows signs of obsolescence when confronted with contemporary global dynamics. On the other hand, the emergence and consolidation of the BRICS group represent a crucial shift within the international system. Far from constituting a threat to the global order, the BRICS—and now the BRICS Plus format—should be understood as a collective effort to reform traditional decision-making structures and to propose alternative visions capable of supporting a global system in transition toward multipolarity. To fully grasp what the BRICS seek to achieve, and why their role is increasingly significant, it is essential to recognize the limitations of traditional epistemological categories rooted in Eurocentric schools of thought. Instead, International Studies should broaden its analytical horizons by incorporating non-mainstream and non-Western perspectives. Such an epistemic expansion would allow for a more comprehensive and plural understanding of global transformations, particularly in this historical moment when new actors from the Global South are asserting their voices and demanding greater participation in addressing global issues.