Timothy Garton Ash is one of the most perceptive analysts of European affairs (as well as a gifted writer). He has written an op-ed piece for the New York Times on how to interpret the behavior of Russian President Putin. Perhaps the most chilling insight of the essay is the way Ash links the Nazi use of the word “volk” to Putin’s use of the phrase “russkiy mir” (Russian world). The link between ethnic identity and nationalism is a dangerous and volatile combination.
The BRICS countries (the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Russian Federation, the Republic of India, the People’s Republic of China and the Republic of South Africa) have begun to create an alternative economic system as an alternative to the US/European dominated Bretton Woods Institutions (the IMF, the World Bank, and the World Trade Organization). The countries have announced as their first step the creation of a bank with an initial capitalization of $100 billion. The five countries comprise a significant economic bloc with great potential. The difficulty of creating a long-term viable alternative is extraordinary, however. The five countries are remarkably diverse and opposition to Western dominance is a powerful force, but not necessarily strong enough to overcome the differences.
Thousands of Parisians defied the government’s ban on pro-Palestinian demonstrations and marched through the streets of Paris protesting Israeli actions in the Gaza Strip. Despite the fears of a confrontation with the Jewish Defense League similar to the one last week at a synagogue, there were no such face-offs. There were also protests in Montreal and Toronto, in Kashmir, Bangladesh, Germany, Britain, and Turkey.
World Politics News 
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