Weekend Roundup: The Olympic Prism

The modern Olympics have become a global platform through which countries project their image to the rest of the world. They have become a prism that refracts geopolitical and geocultural realities and aspirations.

The most expensive Olympics ever, the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, showcased Russia's revival as a strong state under the guidance of President Vladimir Putin after the humiliation of losing the Cold War. As Tokyo's new governor Yuriko Koike wrote last week in The WorldPost, she intends to use the 2020 games there to rebrand Japan as the leading edge of Asian modernization.

More...