31.4.5 Characteristics, examples and consequences for global order of failed states

Characteristics of Failed States

Inability to Protect or Provide for Citizens

• Human Rights Abuses: There is often a high level of human rights violations, including violence against civilians, repression, and lack of access to justice.

Economic Dysfunction and Collapse

• Resource Curse: Many failed states suffer from the "resource curse," where the presence of valuable natural resources leads to corruption, exploitation, and conflict rather than economic development. Colonizers or foreign powers often extracted resources without investing in sustainable development.

Ethnic and Provincial Divides

• Deep-Seated Social Divisions: Failed states often suffer from significant ethnic, provincial, or religious divides that are exacerbated by poor governance and historical factors such as colonial rule. These divisions can lead to violent conflict and further destabilize the state.

Internal and External Conflicts

• Tumultuous Relationships with Neighbors: Failed states often have difficult relationships with neighboring countries, which may become involved in their internal conflicts or exploit the state's weaknesses for their own gain. This can lead to regional instability and cross-border conflicts.

Corruption and Loss of Legitimacy

• Deep-Seated Corruption: Failed states are characterized by corruption at the highest levels of government, leading to a loss of trust among the population. This corruption often includes the misuse of resources, human rights abuses such as the use of child soldiers, and widespread criminal activity.

Inability to Hold Elections

• Unsafe and Corrupt Elections: In failed states, it is often too unsafe to hold elections due to widespread violence, corruption, and a lack of infrastructure. Even if elections are held, they are unlikely to be free, fair, or reflective of the people's will.

Vulnerability to Natural Disasters

• Lack of Infrastructure: Failed states are highly vulnerable to natural disasters, such as famines, because they lack the infrastructure and governance needed to respond effectively. This vulnerability further exacerbates the suffering of the population and the collapse of state functions.

Lack of Power and Legitimacy

• Lack of Legitimacy and Institutions: Failed states lack the legitimacy and functional institutions needed to exercise power both internally and externally. They are unable to engage effectively in diplomatic relations with other states or participate in international organizations.

Prone to Internal Conflict and Territorial Loss

• Internal Conflict and Fragmentation: Failed states are prone to internal conflicts, often losing control over large portions of their territory to non-state actors, including militias, warlords, or terrorist groups. This loss of control further undermines the state's sovereignty and ability to function.

• Loss of Control Over Territory: The government cannot maintain authority or enforce laws across the country, leading to areas being controlled by armed groups or criminal organizations.

External Interventions and Humanitarian Aid

• External Intervention: Due to their inability to function effectively, failed states often become the focus of humanitarian interventions by other states or international organizations. These interventions aim to stabilize the situation and provide basic services that the government can no longer offer.
• Dependency on IGOs: Failed states are heavily dependent on international governmental organizations (IGOs) and foreign aid for survival. This aid often includes development programs, humanitarian assistance, and efforts to rebuild state institutions from the bottom up, such as police training programs.

Consequences for Global Order

Regional Instability

• Spillover of Conflict: The collapse of a state can lead to the spillover of conflict into neighboring countries, creating regional instability. Refugee flows, cross-border violence, and the spread of weapons and armed groups can destabilize entire regions.

Humanitarian Crises

• Mass Displacement and Suffering: Failed states are often the site of severe humanitarian crises, including mass displacement of people, widespread poverty, and famine. The inability of the state to provide for its citizens leads to immense human suffering and a reliance on international aid.

Difficulty in International Relations

• Inability to Engage Diplomatically: Failed states are unable to engage in normal diplomatic relations with other states due to their lack of legitimacy and functional government institutions. This isolation can make it difficult to address global issues that require cooperation.

Opportunities for Non-State Actors

• Rise of Non-State Actors: The collapse of government authority in failed states creates opportunities for non-state actors, including terrorist organizations, criminal networks, and armed militias, to gain control over territory and resources. This can lead to further destabilization and security threats beyond the state's borders.

Burden on International Community

• Responsibility of International Organizations: The international community, particularly IGOs and humanitarian organizations, often bears the burden of providing aid and attempting to stabilize failed states. These efforts can be resource-intensive and challenging, with limited prospects for success in the absence of stable governance.