I'm happy to see that sanctions might finally give Russia reason to pause, but I wonder how accurate or complete this analysis is.<p>Economic sanctions is an appealing alternative to hot war when it comes to penalizing regimes that violate basic rules of coexistence. With the evident inability of the UN to hold the reins regarding such, the US now hold the baton.<p>But it is obviously largely unsatisfactory for the most populous countries on the planet that the US in it's role as an enforcer of a "rules based" order seemingly inadvertently promote US prosperity and influence, many times at their expense. It would seem that the flocking of countries to BRICs and related organizations is an attempt to escape this stranglehold that the US financial system holds on the rest of the world, countries that also are among the worlds most repressive and undemocratic.<p>It is likely that the more effective and restrictive sanctions are, the greater the impetus will be to create a "multipolar" world that escapes the dominance of the US to some degree.<p>To be clear, I don't think this is anything but a dangerous development for our planet. It builds up to a situation where we have large economic and military blocks with opposing interests, and that can only end badly if left unattended. We need something like a restored and effective UN, but I really can't see that coming any time soon.