I think channeling is like any other resource. If it is held by one person or group, it is like that group having all the money or all the weapons or all the oil. Things can work out so long as they are equitable in their use or distribution of the resource, but that is not going to happen any sooner than I get a unicorn ride, human nature being human nature. If channelers were spread out over many organizations, it is possible that that world would be devastated by One Power battles between them, but since even the Shadow and the Light were able to refrain from destroying the world they contended over (vis a vis the balefire understanding), I tend to doubt that. Look at it this way - the only time nuclear weapons were deployed in the history of the human race, was when one power had exclusive use of them. Once both sides had nukes, they were cautious about using them, fearing retaliation. You can't even ascribe it to the specific natures of the NATO and Warsaw Pact leadership, or Russian and American cultural memes and mores, since Pakistan and India have managed the same sort of face off. The reluctance to use the ultimate means of destruction, out of concern for retaliation appears to be a principle that holds true for Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Atheist societies alike.

But if other channeling groups existed, competition would drive them to better one another, and prevent one side from bullying non channelers, lest they turn to another channeling group for protection. When the US & USSR were pointing nukes at one another, neither laid a finger on the other's Middle East client states, which fought a number of conflicts during the Cold War. Once the Soviet Union dissolved, the US was invading Iraq before the CIS had time to catch its breath.

Just about all of the channeling innovations the Tower has added to its inventory since the series began came from foreign cultures or rogue initiates. The one discovery made by a sister who wore the shawl before the Tower split, was inspired by the presence of a male channeler terrorizing the rebel camp. Without the Wondergirls running around defying caution and typical procedures, and trying what every established sister knew was impossible, none of the new things would have been accomplished.

But that's my problem with Egwene, she takes a good impulse or notion, and runs in exactly the wrong direction with it. Taking in more novices IS a good idea, just like building houses for the homeless. But you don't announce the location of the building site and invite the homeless to show up before you have even begun acquiring the necessary materials and workers!

Your suggestion is very sensible and akin to similar ones I made regarding their thinking solely of the immediate vicinity when contemplating their sources of supply. They can Travel, so why do they limit themselves to the limited amounts within a day or so ride of their campsites?

Unless he was entirely conscious of the resemblance. RJ did directly compare the Shadow's infighting to the stuff going on within the Nazi leadership.

I think it's one more symptom of their lazy, sloppy or otherwise unimaginative thinking. That in turn, is the result of their having reigned supreme for so long, and having been the unquestioned top of the heap as long as they can remember. They are simply not used to being challenged or having to stretch their limitations. Their power has been sufficient to quell resistance with outsiders, and their internal politics have been a very closed system, populated by women who think in exactly the same terms. In their experience, the Amyrlins have all been women just like them, who played the game with the same playbook, and used the same moves. They were invested in the system and are reluctant to deviate from it. Casting down their chosen Amyrlin over a disagreement is beyond their thinking, because they are not used to a dictatorship, and are probably in denial, thinking if they can just get past this next crisis, things will be fine.

I recently re-read Robert Harris' novel "Conspirata" in which the protagonist and his allies are Roman politicians trying to contain Caesar's rise to power, and keep finding themselves surprised at how he pulls off his wins and successes. They keep making short-term moves without thinking about how Caesar isn't playing by their rules, and doesn't care about preserving the same status quo in which they are all invested. Egwene is like the one guy willing to fire a gun in an oil refinery or an airplane at a high altitude. It gives her an enormous advantage over the people who are too invested in the survival of the structure to fire back.