How does a state fail and how can we fix it?

Amar Parikh

Failed States: How does it fail and how we can fix it

            Failed states have caused the United States of America to re-think their values in international relations due to the inherent threats from the failed state to our own. So why do states fail? They fail due to the fact that the local government cannot provide efficient political guidance and the government itself looses its legitimacy. The very nature of a nation-state becomes void in the eyes of its citizens and this causes the internal violence within the state.

            Somalia for example is a state that has never established a centralized state but rather an assortment of various clans. None of these clans have ever risen up to take full political control of the nation-state thus there is no proper establishment of laws and regulations. The clan’s warlords would fight and steal any national aid that was sent to the state. They would also try to obtain various military weapons in order to further strengthen their clans.. Countless fighting and other factors such as disease, environmental damages, and economic downfall contribute to the growing pains of the failed state. President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has said, “Without a central state there is no law and order, without law and order there is no economy, without an economy a nation is destined to fail”.

            Failed states can become susceptible to terrorist training grounds further decreasing the nation’s security. One debate of failed states is that outside countries should seize political control of the state in order to save it. Intervention of a state can be difficult because each state is different. Due to different ethnical, racial, and religious backgrounds fixing the problem can be problematic due to the fact that in most cases one group will be favored and the other will be a secondary citizen. There is also an issue of what kind of aid will be sent, such as providing economic aid, military interventions, or completely overthrowing the government.

            Afghanistan after the 9/11 terrorist attacks was the center of attentions due to the fact that the Taliban had a hold on the country. The United States wanted to overthrow the Taliban in the region and instill an efficient and stable government system in place. They built infrastructures, trained the military force, and assisted in creating laws and establishing democracy.   

            In the end the United States want to create a stable government however they must be careful. American democracy cannot fully work in the nations of Africa due to cultural, environmental, and religious circumstances. The expectations for a rebuilding a failed state should be set low in the beginning. For example the United States would not be opposed if Afghanistan established a government that is slightly corrupt. This is because even a moderately corrupt government system could enforce some kind of national security within the nation so that threats like the Taliban can be easily handled. If all interventions of failed states occur with the idea of low expectations with the exception of guarantied national security, all failed states could potentially be salvaged.

Work Cited

"10 Reasons Countries Fall Apart." Foreign Policy. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.

"Why Do Some States Fail While Others Do Not?" Roosevelt Institute. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.

"Why Do States Fail?" CIPE Development Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2014.