While Europe fights to save the old rules-based order and great powers argue over what should replace it, many of us outside those centers aren’t really in that conversation. We’re just trying to build practical networks that work for our own challenges as the old system fades.

BRICS is looking to change how cross-border payments are made. Will this challenge the West’s financial system?

In Edward Fishman’s book Chokepoint: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare , he describes the U.S. dollar to be considered as the “world’s default account and medium of exchange” for states around the world. Being the most powerful currency is a huge responsibility, which should not be taken lightly when it comes to weilding its power. Since the Bretton Woods system was established in 1944, the U.S. pegged the dollar to a gold standard. and became an economic powerhou