A Question for the Global Community

As regions gain new freedoms, minority groups with longstanding differences and gripes try to break away from central governments, too often stirring international conflict in the process. Attempting to separate from Georgia, provinces South Ossetia and Abkhazia have fueled tensions between the West and Russia. “For years the Georgian government has failed to engage seriously with the needs and interests of its secessionist regions,” explains Rachel Clogg in the Guardian. “Nor has it pursued a consistent strategy to attract these regions to Tbilisi (and away from reliance on Russia), and to persuade them that they could thrive in a united Georgia.” Clogg argues that Russia, the West and Georgia each bear some measure of blame for the conflict. Repeatedly, the national system fails to address brewing internal conflicts, while a powerful veto system in the UN Security Council hampers international efforts. The international community must unite in finding new ways to manage the conflicts that emerge from such fragmentation. – YaleGlobal