The Thai elections have already begun, and there has been a great deal of violence associated with early balloting. The opposition has vowed to boycott the elections, and forced the closure of many election stations. A large number of police and military have been deployed, but it is difficult to imagine any reasonable outcome to these elections. The political path forward for Thailand is very murky, and its economic situation seems to be suffering from the ambiguity.
As Russia and the West square off in Munich over Ukraine, one cannot help but be sobered by the possibility of a revival of the Cold War. The Global Post has a succinct overview of the Russian interests in keeping Ukraine in its sphere of influence.
A new phrase has been introduced into the vocabulary of political economy: “the Fragile Five.” These are the large emerging economies of Brazil, India, Indonesia, South Africa and Turkey which has recently been rocked by the end of the policy of quantitative easing in the US. These five countries are large enough to make a big difference in the health of the global economy, but not large enough on their own to withstand shocks from the largest economies. Dani Rodrik is an economist with a long-standing critique of globalization and sympathy for the developing economies. Nonetheless, he has co-authored an essay which criticizes the inability of the Fragile Five to forge a path different from that determined by traditional neo-liberal globalization.
World Politics News 
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