The BRICS development bank was created as an alternative to Western-led institutions

The roughly 11 countries in BRICS, an economic coalition created to counter the G7, collectively hold about 40% of global gross domestic product when adjusted for purchasing power parity.

Critics argue that the World Bank, IMF, and WTO were designed to serve Western interests

Some analysts from developing nations argue that the Bretton Woods institutions were designed to reinforce Western economic dominance rather than to promote fair development for poorer countries. Supporters respond that these institutions have improved living standards worldwide.

The World Bank funds development in the world's poorest countries

Originally called the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the World Bank was established in 1944 to assist in rebuilding war-damaged countries and has since grown to finance long-term economic development worldwide.

The World Bank, IMF, and WTO all face calls for structural reform

Researchers argue that all three major institutions face legitimacy and effectiveness challenges, including outdated governance structures, unequal voting power, and difficulty adapting to a more multipolar world.

Hardline China critics in the US worry that China's Belt and Road Initiative is a Trojan horse for military expansion efforts

The Belt and Road Initiative, initially launched in 2013 to develop trade routes throughout Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, has evolved into a larger infrastructure development initiative in developing countries. The BRI is backed by the Silk Road Fund, which is administered by the two most prominent Chinese sovereign wealth funds.

The Bretton Woods conference in 1944 created the foundations of the modern global economy

In July 1944, 44 nations gathered in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, to create a new postwar economic order. The conference led to the creation of the IMF and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development—now known as the World Bank.

Much of the Global South responded to the Russia-Ukraine war by pursuing a strategy of 'active nonalignment'

Boston University scholar Jorge Heine suggests that countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America are avoiding taking sides between Washington and Beijing—viewing the rules-based order as increasingly unresponsive to the needs of developing nations and considering the West's framing of the war irrelevant to its own interests.

The 1997 Asian financial crisis tested the limits of the rules-based order's financial architecture

When a currency crisis hit Thailand, Indonesia, and South Korea, the IMF allocated $118B in emergency loans. However, the attached conditions were widely criticized for worsening the economic downturn and increasing distrust of Western-led institutions across the Global South.

Some experts argue that Russia was never effectively integrated into the rules-based order after 1991

This piece argues that Russia's difficult relationship with the IMF and World Bank in the 1990s—characterized by economic shocks and perceived Western condescension—helped shape Moscow's later hostility toward the liberal order.

The G20 emerged from the 1997 Asian financial crisis as a forum for managing the global economy

Established in 1999 and elevated to a leaders' summit during the 2008 financial crisis, the G20 now unites the world's largest economies to address issues that the Bretton Woods institutions were not designed to manage.

The IMF was created to prevent the currency crises that destabilized the 1930s global economy

Founded in 1945, the IMF monitors exchange rates, promotes financial stability, and provides emergency funding to countries that cannot pay for their imports. It currently has 191 member countries and acts as a lender of last resort for struggling economies.

British economist John Maynard Keynes originally proposed a global currency called the bancor.

Visual Capitalist shows the top 50 countries by central bank reserves

As of 2024, China, Japan, and the United States held the top three spots in terms of the value of their respective central bank reserves.

China operates multiple different sovereign wealth funds, primarily backed by profits from a trade surplus

Unlike other countries that primarily use profits from natural resources, China's sovereign wealth funds are fueled by the country's mounting trade surplus. Among the two largest are the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) fund and the Chinese Investment Corporation (CIC). China also operates the Silk Road Fund, a strategic investment initiative that backs infrastructure creation in developing countries.

7 experts debate China's role in the future of the rules-based international order

This interactive feature showcases opposing arguments—from scholars who view China as a major threat to the order, to Chinese analyst Wu Xinbo's argument that China will shape the order's evolution rather than destroy it.

Young Brazilians protested their country's hosting of the 2014 World Cup

In 2013, the Confederations Cup in Brazil was marked with widespread protests in a period dubbed "Generation June." Many were angry about the looming 2014 World Cup, which they believed was an affront to the country's many pressing issues.

AI may help the 1.4 billion people worldwide who lack access to basic financial services

Artificial intelligence is fuelling a financial technology transformation in some countries where an outsized number of residents lack access to basic financial services, including Brazil and Nigeria.

Davos has been home to many pivotal moments in international diplomacy

Davos provides a forum for unlikely meetings: FW de Klerk met with Nelson Mandela and Mangosuthu Buthelezi during South Africa’s transition from apartheid, North and South Korea held their first-ever ministerial talks, and East and West German leaders discussed reunification.

Hear Ray Dalio talk about the growth of the Chinese economy

Dalio was an early advocate of US investment in China. While he has previously criticized the authoritarian regime, his criticism of the government has been labeled mild relative to his praise for economic growth and innovation—critics argue that he has minimized human rights violations in the country.

Fintech could help democratize access to banking

More than 1.3 billion adults worldwide do not have access to basic banking services as of this writing—but some experts believe that the fintech industry can help with that by targeting groups of people who have historically been underserved by traditional banks.

Owned by Tencent, WeBank was China's first digital bank and services 340 million customers.

Renewed competition between great powers is straining multilateral institutions

This analysis argues that the increasing US-China rivalry is fostering a more contested international environment—where shared rules and institutions are being challenged rather than reinforced.

Microfinance, conceived as a solution to conservative critics of Western aid as a handout system in the 1980s, is a small-dollar, community-based financing structure that was originally created as a way to expand access to credit and end poverty.

IBM helped turn Rio de Janeiro into a smart city before it hosted the World Cup

In response to the deadly floods and mudslides in 2010, Brazil and IBM developed a multimillion-dollar plan to modernize Rio's emergency management infrastructure. An operations center utilizes advanced weather forecasting, surveillance, and real-time data to surveil and respond to events such as severe storms more accurately.

Some private credit funds trade on the stock market

These funds, which trade at market prices, are called "public BDCs," which stands for "business development companies." For instance, the global alternative investment manager Ares Management Corp. has a public BDC.

How the World Bank's pandemic bonds were triggered during COVID-19

In 2017, the World Bank raised a chunk of emergency funds through bonds to help developing countries cover funds in the event of a pandemic. Had no pandemic occurred, investors would have received returns of 6% to 11%. But the global pandemic meant they lost all their money.

How banking works

To do big things, people often need more money. Banks jumpstart economic activity with loans paid back with interest, and when things are working well, both people and the bank make more money. Formed in the Middle Ages amid competing currencies in Italy, banks—from the Italian for bench, banco—helped stimulate that era's commercial revolution, a massive expansion in Mediterranean trade and development. Find out the ins and outs of banks in this quick explainer video.

The world is shifting from unipolarity toward a multipolar order

The post-Cold War world was briefly unipolar after 1991, with the US standing alone as a global superpower following decades of US-Soviet bipolarity. Analysts increasingly describe today's order as multipolar, with China, Russia, the US, and regional powers all competing for influence.

During the Cold War, the rules-based order was largely limited to the West

The Soviet Union and its allies operated outside the Bretton Woods institutions, meaning the postwar liberal order functioned as a regional rather than a truly global system. This changed with the USSR's collapse in 1991.

China joined the WTO in 2001

After 15 years of negotiation, China joined the WTO as the 143rd member. This move gave it access to the global market in exchange for commitments to economic liberalization, despite skepticism from existing members about integrating a state-controlled economy into a free-market system.

Brazil is leading a cheese revolution and challenging European dominance in the industry

Brazil has plenty of traditional dishes that rely on cheese, but it’s only in the last decade that the country has emerged as a powerhouse in artisanal cheesemaking. While the cheeses may be inspired by European traditions, options like cocoa-dusted goat cheese or an Amazonian buffalo cheese are pure South American.

Proponents argue that abandoning the rules-based order risks a return to the chaos that led to 2 world wars

Brookings scholar Robert Kagan warns that if China and Russia gain regional dominance, the world could return to the unstable conditions of the late 19th century—the same chaos that led to two devastating world wars.

Since its founding, Palantir has refused to sell its software to China or Russia

In line with the founding principle of supporting Western institutions, Palantir has vowed to not share its technology with companies or government agencies in China and Russia—which Palantir frequently calls the West's largest threats.

In 2007, Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund, warned of an impending financial crisis.

The World Economic Forum works year-round

Beyond its annual Davos meeting, the World Economic Forum operates year-round through 11 centers that convene governments, corporations, and experts to coordinate initiatives around topics such as AI, cybersecurity, energy, climate change, health, finance, trade, geopolitics, and emerging technologies.

Because of their size, sovereign wealth funds create anxiety about foreign undermining of financial systems

Across the board, sovereign wealth funds have an immense amount of capital, and, therefore, influence in global financial markets. Critics argue that this influence could enable a foreign country to harm another country's financial market by either investing adversely in competitive markets or by withholding critical capital.

As of 2022, Canada has the most planned critical mineral mines

Wealthy nations are tapping into their domestic critical mineral reserves and buying up mines in poorer countries. The US, the UK, Canada, Australia, and China are taking the lead, with Chinese operations spanning all continents except Antarctica.

Meet Klaus Schwab, the founder and driving force behind Davos

Klaus Schwab founded the World Economic Forum in 1971 and spent five decades promoting stakeholder capitalism and cross-sector cooperation among elites. Under his leadership, Davos became a hub for global power brokers. Schwab stepped down from the role in April 2025 amid accusations of misconduct.

The WEF’s Edison Alliance connected more than 1 billion people to digital services

By 2024, the World Economic Forum-backed Edison Alliance had delivered digital connectivity and access to financial, healthcare, and education services to more than 1 billion people, using public-private partnerships across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the US.

In 2024, Black Friday was observed in 129 countries

Brazilians adopted Black Friday in 2010. Today, 60% of Brazilians participate in the shopping event. Large corporations offering Black Friday sales in the US (like Amazon, for instance) began offering similar deals in places like the UK, spreading the holiday internationally.

The fascinating urban planning experiment that birthed Brazil's capital city

In 1960, the country moved its capital from Rio de Janeiro to Brasília, a city in the middle of the country built from scratch in just four years.

Why private credit has faced challenges in recent years

The factors that some experts say are driving what could be private credit's most challenging era since the 2008 financial crisis include global economic uncertainty around trade and tariffs, investor fears about the amount of money being spent on artificial intelligence, and more.

Why countries have credit ratings

Sovereign credit ratings work like national credit scores, measuring a country’s ability and willingness to repay its debt. Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch are the major agencies assigning these ratings, which influence borrowing costs and investor confidence.

The WEF’s ‘Davos Manifesto’ is a set of guiding principles for the event

In 2020, these principles were updated for the first time in more than 40 years to include “stakeholder capitalism,” the idea that a company’s purpose is “to engage all its stakeholders in shared and sustained value creation.”

Billionaires are racing to space to control future markets

Although different companies have described focuses ranging from luxury tourism to Martian space colonies, all are building infrastructure to capitalize on the shift away from government-only control and betting big on reusability and scale. By securing public contracts and subsidies, they aim to develop strategic partnerships toward dominance in low Earth orbit.

‘A Spirit of Dialogue’ is the theme of Davos 2026

Each year, Davos introduces a new overarching theme to guide the discussions at the event. The 2026 World Economic Forum theme is intended to spark conversation around global challenges including cooperation in a contested world, investing in people, deploying innovation responsibly at scale, building prosperity within planetary boundaries, and more.

A startup is trying to create the diamond equivalent of the gold standard

It's called the Diamond Standard Co, and it uses an algorithm to assign standard values to a variety off small diamonds, grouping them together into individual coins. Historically, diamonds haven't been able to be classified as commodities or standardized like gold because they aren't uniform—factors such as clarity, cut, color, and carat size significantly influence the value of a diamond.

British colonialism left economic institutions that still shape growth today

This analysis argues that while the British Empire inflicted exploitation and long-term harm, it also exported institutions—like standardized property rights and land surveying—that boosted economic development in some colonies.

The shadow banking system is a group of intermediaries that operate outside of normal banking regulations

The nonbank financial intermediaries that make up the shadow banking system legally provide services that are similar to those of traditional commercial banks. Although the term isn't used as often as it once was, private credit firms are technically part of the shadow banking system, as are hedge funds, payday lenders, buy now, pay later companies, and more.

Many countries remained neutral after Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, few nations outside the West imposed sanctions on Moscow. Major powers such as China, India, Brazil, and Turkey remained neutral, underscoring global divisions over how to confront Russian aggression.