Emerging alliances like BRICS and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) are increasingly seen as alternatives to Western-dominated blocs, offering economic and political counterbalance to dominant global powers. While these groups provide platforms for collective negotiation and resistance to unilateral pressure, they lack the formal military alliances that guarantee mutual defense. Members rely instead on diplomatic coordination and economic leverage, leaving security guarantees dependent on individual national commitments. The distinction highlights a growing divide between economic solidarity and military cooperation in the evolving geopolitical landscape.
BRICS, SCO and other organisations can offer relief from great power pressure but do not provide collective defence.
