International Historical Statistics; Africa, Asia and Oceania 1750-2005 is the latest edition of the most authoritative collection of statistics available. Updated to 2005 wherever possible, it provides key economic and social indicators for the last 255 years, serving as an essential reference...

State failure takes many forms. Somalia offers one extreme. A collapse of central authority as the outcome of a prolonged civil war, where authority descends into competing factions -- headed by warlords -- around the spoils of local commerce, power and international aid. At the other end of the...