Sudan and South Sudan teeter on the brink of war. There's a political standoff between Iraq's Kurds and the government. And then there's Syria, where there's no real ceasefire, only increasing concern the conflict could escalate into a regional war.

It's a dangerous world for civilians who are now the most frequent victims of conflicts.

For their sake, a little-known, non-governmental organization based in Belgium called the Crisis Group (crisisgroup. org) is trying to prevent and resolve those kinds of deadly conflicts.

It collects detailed research and analysis done by networks of researchers in troubled countries.

That information is then shared quietly behind the scenes with those who might be able to do something about it.

It might sound like policy-wonkish stuff. But the work isn't based on grandiose principles or doctrines, it's pragmatism in search of solutions for the peculiarities of each situation.

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