--- michael <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > This was the problem that I was referring to when I > was trying to > describe a progression of fragmentations. I first > began to think about > this sort of problem when Lebanon began to fall > apart. At first, it > seemed to be a religious division, but then I began > to realize that > there were divisions within each religion that were > made each others > throats. The situation seemed like a fractal to me. >
Look at the post-Soviet situation in the early 90s. The Union falls apart, and you immediately start having all these bloody ethnic conflicts around its former borders: Armenians vs. Azerbaijanis, Georgians vs. Abkhazians and Ossetians, Romanians vs. Russians, Ossetians vs. Ingush... There are 34 distinct ethno-cultural groups in Dagestan, which is about the size of Maryland. There are villages of a few hundred people there that are the only representatives of entire languages. The potential for conflict is immense. __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Y! Messenger - Communicate in real time. Download now. http://messenger.yahoo.com
