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    The Ends of the World as We Know Them: The Unites States is seemingly at the height of its power, but how long will our ascendancy last? (Jared Diamond, 1/01/05, NY Times)

When it comes to historical collapses, five groups of interacting factors have been especially important: the damage that people have inflicted on their environment; climate change; enemies; changes in friendly trading partners; and the society's political, economic and social responses to these shifts. That's not to say that all five causes play a role in every case. Instead, think of this as a useful checklist of factors that should be examined, but whose relative importance varies from case to case.

    -ESSAY: The Erosion of Civilization: The Fertile Crescent's fall holds a message for today's troubled spots. (Jared Diamond, June 15, 2003, LA Times)
    -ESSAY: Muskets and Nukes: the Patterns of Proliferation (Jared Diamond, March 16, 2003, LA Times)
    -ESSAY: WHY DO SOME SOCIETIES MAKE DISASTROUS DECISIONS? (JARED DIAMOND, April 28, 2003, Edge)