The general public still will unfortunately go for tribe rather than talent

Makgatho's son, Mandla Mandela, became chief of the Mvezo tribal council in 2007.

The story of how we became who we are needs to accommodate our sense of tribal solidarity and accomplishment.

All in all, tribalism represents a denial of the modern impersonal, egalitarian State and is consequently discriminatory in nature.

Britain in the Wilderness

US influence in Burma is unlikely to outweigh that of increasingly powerful Asian neighbors.

However, the tribal society of the Gauls did not change fast enough for the centralized Roman state, who would learn to counter them.

With influence must come accountability.

No Country for Young Oligarchs

Finland fell into the Soviet sphere.

The EU has even more leverage.

He possesses more influence than power.

The Romans also exerted influence on the Persian Gulf.

Traditionally Asian Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan have resumed the tribal forms of autocracy they practiced throughout the centuries.

They extend the reach of their tribes by connecting them, not just to myself, so that my following is greater, but I connect people who don't know each other to something greater than themselves.

Once, at a traditional ceremony, in which an infant child receives his tribal name, I watched the proud father and a half dozen male friends dance together before a crowd of well wishers.

The international community must closely monitor this process, however, to ensure that tribal reconciliation or conflict resolution talks do not become a substitute for a political settlement.

Russia has had centuries of influence in the Middle East and Central Asia, much of which used to be incorporated in the Russian and Soviet empires.

The White Moors are a light skinned Berber people who speak Arabic.

Developments in these countries during the postcommunist years marked a gradual change from Russian to European influence, but that is not irreversible.

During my visit to Darfur 10 days ago, I saw the dramatic consequences of the tribal or ethnic cleansing of dozens of villages carried out by the militia during the month of January.

The party then hemorrhaged influential members, particularly in the north.

In Iraq, free elections have revealed the enormous influence of Islamist currents.

This confederation, under French influence, put an end to the Holy Roman Empire.

Asia s new clout holds tremendous promise.

Here India has been slow to join the struggle for influence.

As it stands, India and China are openly competing for influence in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Nepal, and Bangladesh.

Over time, enhanced influence will enable him to get more things done.

Overlapping spheres of influence and frozen conflicts could again cause major conflict.

That influence is bolstered by the electoral rules inherent bias in favor of powerful parties.

Parma was under French influence after the Peace of Aachen (1748).

Arab artistic influence in Sicily mirrors the Lombard influence in the Mezzogiorno.

The purpose of influence is not to build your ego, or your net worth.

Japan recognized the link between political clout and science in the 1980 s.

They concern disputes over territory, political power, definitions of rights, and distribution of wealth.

But America s dwindling leverage cannot match the influence of the region s axis of evil.

America s influential Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also was established under Nixon.

China s current international influence likely outstrips its desire or capacity.

An interesting experience is taking place at the University of California at Los Angeles, which has set up the Tribal Learning Community and Educational Exchange (TLCEE) to help generate a curriculum based both on Western scholarship and tribal knowledge.

But influence is not an end in itself it is a means to an end.

No diplomat could match that kind of influence.

The outcry after the first BMW case was not really about the light sentence given to a rich woman, but about the lack of confidence ordinary people have in China's judicial system.

The democratization of Iraq has empowered the Shi a majority, which in turn greatly strengthened Iran s influence.

But Cuba s influence on the old FMLN leadership remains intact.

For optimists, Turkey s growing regional influence enhances its value for the EU. But this assumes that Europe is willing and able to benefit from what Turkey has to offer.