"Debbe uno capitano, tra tutte l'altre sue azioni, con ogni arte ingegnarsi di dividere le forze del nimico, o col fargli sospetti i suoi uomini ne' quali confida, o con dargli cagione ch'egli abbia a separare le sue genti e, per questo, diventare più debole."
The words above are part of the military strategy that the Italian Macchiavelli suggested in his book L'arte della guerra (The Art of War) published in 1521.
"A Captain ought, among all the other actions of his, endeavor with every art to divide the forces of the enemy, either by making him suspicious of his men in whom he trusted, or by giving him cause that he has to separate his forces, and, because of this, become weaker." (translation by Steve Thomas)
It is the application in the military context of the divide et impera technique used by many famous conquerors and rulers like Philip II of Macedon, Julius Caesar and Napoleon.
I wonder if the success of this technique is due more to the cleverness of the person applying it or to the inherent weaknesses of the victims. Because right now, I can see it in full display in our world.
When a common enemy threatened and attacked our lives globally, we rushed towards divisions instead of seeking unity and joining forces.
Borders are closed, people are banned from travel, countries look at each other with suspicion, divisions and fractures emerge within our communities and even within our families.
We are masterfully applying Macchiavelli's advice to divide and conquer.
Only in this case, we are the conquered doing it to ourselves.