Divided by warring militias for 15 years, international aid shipments into the country have been attacked by pirates on the sea and bandits on the road.

NPR: Somalia Struggles to Cope with Drought

Notice that in none of this platform prattle have I even mentioned the current titans that have been warring over TV for years: The cable service providers, satellite companies, even the programmers that produce and deliver the content we all love.

FORBES: The Fight Over TV Is A Fight For Platform Power

The utter fragmentation of the rebels into warring factions in the past three years is a big reason for the lack of progress towards peace in Darfur.

ECONOMIST: The crisis in Darfur

Many of the control mechanisms perfected by the Qin had developed during the preceding 500 years or so of the Eastern Zhou dynasty when a host of small warring states across China began to coalesce.

ECONOMIST: Theories of history

Over the years, Mr Van der Stoel has achieved something remarkable: a modicum of trust between would-be warring parties on many of the ragged edges of Europe.

ECONOMIST: Charlemagne