When you start to understand them, the rules turn into beliefs and beliefs turn into values.
Many, including the influential thinktank the European Stability Initiative (ESI), believed that Ashdown's rule turned Bosnia into a European "Raj", and that the time had come to allow Bosnians to assert control over their own affairs, with the HR playing a less proactive role.
His increasingly autocratic and lawless rule turned many of his supporters into unyielding enemies and fueled the uprising in which some 100 Haitians were killed.
Under these situations the "I-ain't-gonna-get-to-pee-for-an-hour" rule turns into something much more problematic.
The conflict began in March 2011 with peaceful protests against four decades of Assad family rule and turned into an armed revolt after months of government repression.
PLANNED as a solemn celebration of national reconciliation, the 50th anniversary of Hungary's failed uprising against Soviet rule has turned into a bitter farce, the victim of the country's savagely polarised politics.
With no stake in the just governance of the region, or its long-term wellbeing, the company's rule quickly turned into the straightforward pillage of Bengal, and the rapid transfer westwards of its wealth.
Whereas in the past, the battle against pirate fishing has been fought predominantly on the waves, requiring huge resources, manpower, and time to track mostly elusive pirate fishers, this new rule turns ports into the first line of defence.
What should have been a joyous occasion -- a celebration of independence from three centuries of British colonial rule -- quickly turned into one of the greatest tragedies in modern history.
To watch: Michael Pollan's "Food Rules" has been turned into a stop-motion video: Alex Koppelman was a politics editor for newyorker.com from from 2011 to 2013.
