From 1989 to 1995, some 85 wars were fought from Azerbaijan to the former Zaire. From 1992 to 94 alone, an estimated 980,000 people were combat casualties in 22 conflicts. War shows every sign of being a well-oiled machine still operating with deadly efficiency. But something is different. With diminished foreign aid, these Third World governments are unable to maintain public order or guarantee property rights.
Local strongholds develop with warlords controlling resources.
Warfare becomes privatized, and violence acquires its own logic, divorced from politics. It shows its face in the urban strife of fragmented Third World societies. You can send a well-meaning conflict resolution expert there and say to the leaders, Why don't we sit around a table and see what our differences are and where we can compromise. But for those guys their power and wealth is based on the organization of violence. They won't give it up for the sake of pursuing the peace goals of a conflict mediator.