Word: ethnicity
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...Since the early 1990s, South Ossetia and Abkhazia have been an integral part of Russia's strategy to preserve its traditional spheres of influence following the collapse of the Soviet empire. The two territories broke away from Georgia for the same ethnic-nationalist reasons that Chechnya wanted out of Russia. But while Moscow relentlessly and bloodily suppressed Chechnya's secessionists, it fully supported their Ossetian and Abkhazian counterparts as a tool against Georgia's tilt toward the West. Moscow issued Russian citizenship to over 90% of the population of both entities and deployed "peacekeeping" forces sympathetic to the separatists...
...mounting ethnic, religious and clan tensions that riddle the Caucasus, moreover, are now likely to make the region even more unstable, and not necessarily to Russia's advantage. Some in the region may take courage from the fact that while the 35,000-strong Georgian army was no match for Russia's military juggernaut, it put up a level of resistance the Russians had never expected...
...country's economy may be plummeting and its ethnic and linguistic unity cracking, but Spain's athletes head to the Beijing Olympics with newfound pride and self-assurance. "We're seeing a moment in which the country has overcome its longstanding self-perception in sports," says El País sportswriter Juan José Paradinas. "Before, Spaniards didn't see themselves as winners, but as they've won, they've gained confidence. The Spanish athlete - now he believes he's a champion...
...news of his pride in bringing glory to his country. Through sports Spaniards seem able to find a sense of national identity that can otherwise elude them, a feeling of what Paradinas calls "being part of Spain's team." On the fields and courts of athletic competition, class and ethnic differences recede as well. "When they're playing sports," says Paradinas, "they feel like Spaniards, part of one country. Whether we're talking about Gasol, Nadal, or Sastre, a national spirit leads them, a spirit lacking before...
...Games to Beijing will prove to be a milestone in China's re-engagement with the world. But there is also little doubt that the immediate impact has been a worrying increase in the authorities' already draconian treatment of dissenting voices such as human-rights activists and restive ethnic minorities like Tibetans and Uighurs. Keeping a lid on protest has proven difficult - the bright Olympics spotlight draws all manner of dissidents. Whatever the Chinese authorities and the International Olympic Committee might say about separating politics and sport, the Beijing Games have become the most politicized in decades. Less than five...