Many of the most difficult questions concerning the role of ethnic minorities centers on language.

In the coming decades, questions of identity, meaning cultural heritage, language, and religion will play a central role in politics.

As far as ideology or political beliefs are concerned, countries are very different.

I don't say that the West is united, I don't suggest that.

Certainly here in the U.S., we've had fundamentalist movements that have taken very critical and hostile attitudes toward immigration and the assimilation of immigrants into our society and culture. So these tendencies are fairly universal. The problem is what if they get out of hand and become the dominant factor in a society, which can only lead to the oppression of minorities or even to war with neighboring societies with differing cultures. That's why it seems to me it's important to try to keep these tendencies toward extremism under control.

I don't know what will happen 100 years from now.

A lot of people tend to think I'm a dogmatic ideologue, which I'm not.