The problem with writing NationStates history down is that there's an awful lot of it. Complicating the problem for new players, many of the primary sources (the old forums, many old offsite forums) have disappeared and many of the others are disorganized enough that it's hard to figure out what's going on without a guide. So I thought a good way to educate newer players (and I use that term very broadly—there's some history that I'd like to know more about) would be a Q&A thread. Basically, ask your questions about NationStates history and hopefully somebody that was around for whatever you asked about will tell you what happened! Or disagree with somebody else's answer—most of the more interesting events have at least two sides to them.
My personal specialty is the Alliance Defense Network and related global events (including the rise of the New Pacific Order) from late 2003 to late 2005, although I'm sure that the NPO types may disagree with my interpretation of some of those events.
Without further ado, bring on the questions!
NOTE: As this is the Gameplay forum, this thread's for asking questions related to, well, Gameplay. Questions related to roleplay should be asked here.