When Fine Gael and Labour agreed to work as coalition partners, they issued a joint document saying voters had chosen parties "to begin mending the pieces of a fractured society, a broken economy".

BBC: Ireland country profile

At the helm is President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, whose task of uniting a once-fractured and divided society is too enormous to be judged prematurely.

BBC: African view: Land of liberty?

The creative in the show is a microcosm of where we are as a society and industry: global, fractured, and increasingly riddled with bouts of attention deficit disorder.

FORBES: Inside The Judges' Room: The ANDYs

But at the same time, it is equally clear that Ethiopia is the only state among the warring factions that has tried to bring a semblance of law and order and openness to its war torn, fractured society.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Condi's African holiday