The king,while being viewed as above politics, has played a stabilizing role over the years in Thailand's often fractious political climate.

VOA: standard.2009.09.21

Bush also drew a picture of his war-planning options amid a wave of sectarian and insurgent violence, continued casualties of U.S. forces and an Iraqi government that the report said is struggling to reconcile the fractious nation's many cultural differences.

CNN: Bush: Iraq benchmarks report 'cause for optimism'

Egypt, along with the semi-autonomous government of South Sudan, has tried to bring Darfur's fractious rebels together to create a joint platform.

ECONOMIST: Sudan

The fertile and fractious U.S. scene in the genre known as black metal can be understood through a familiar moment in rock history.

NEWYORKER: The Dark Arts