12 Degrees of Failure

How does a weak state become a failed state?

JULY/AUGUST 2010

Each weak state is beset by a unique set of troubles. One country's chief woe might be staggering economic decline while another's is the rapid brain drain of its best and brightest. Here are the worst performers in each of the index's 12 indicators -- and how things got so bad.

DEMOGRAPHICS
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC):  9.9 of 10
If you live in Congo, there's about a 50-50 chance you are under age 14. Population growth hovers at a fast-paced 3 percent annually, despite civil war, a sky-high infant mortality rate, and pervasive infectious disease.

REFUGEES
Somalia: 10
Almost a quarter of Somalia's population, or about 2 million people, has been uprooted by conflict in recent years.

ILLEGITIMATE GOVERNMENTS
Afghanistan, Somalia: 10
Somalia's Western-backed government controls just a few blocks in Mogadishu. In Afghanistan, a thriving Taliban insurgency, the presence of international troops, and a flawed presidential election have undermined the government's legitimacy.

BRAIN DRAIN
Zimbabwe:  9.7
One out of every five Zimbabweans has fled the country over the past decade-many of them professors, doctors, engineers, lawyers, and journalists.

PUBLIC SERVICES
Niger: 9.7
Niger may well be the poorest country in the world. The government lacks any ability to provide services such as education and health care; rampant illiteracy and high rates of infant mortality are the abysmal result.

INEQUALITY
DRC, Sudan: 9.5
The tiny elites in Congo and Sudan have profited enormously from resource wealth. Overwhelming majorities in both countries, meanwhile, remain desperately poor.

GROUP GRIEVANCES
Sudan: 9.9
Sudan's south, east, and west are all in some stage of seeking autonomy from the capital in Khartoum, citing grievances that range from government neglect to active persecution.

HUMAN RIGHTS
Somalia, Sudan: 9.9
Having a president indicted for war crimes isn't a good sign, but the real measure of Sudan's woeful human rights record is its history of subduing restive regions through massive brutality.

ECONOMIC DECLINE
North Korea, Somalia, Zimbabwe: 9.6
Dictators in North Korea and Zimbab- we have rigged their economies to funnel profits into regime hands -- even with their national markets in complete collapse.

SECURITY FORCES
Somalia: 10
In a few parts of Mogadishu, the government or African Union peacekeepers are in control. Elsewhere, it's Islamist militias, local warlords, or an assortment of rival clan factions.

FACTIONALIZED ELITES
Somalia: 10
Islamist and clan organizations vie for control throughout the country, and internal shake-ups have made the government spectacularly unstable.

EXTERNAL INTERVENTION
Afghanistan: 10
NATO forces are not alone in trying to direct Afghanistan's future: Pakistan, India, Iran, Russia, and China are also pursuing divergent interests there.

NEXT: Reality Check: How Bad Are They?

Ed Jones/AFP/Getty Images

 

NAZIA

1:07 AM ET

June 21, 2010

Influence of infruential groups

It is very easy to move your state toward situation of failed strategies by adopting few rules .
-First shake hand with super powers for arms deals in the name of defense of country.
-Then make friendship ties with officials of IMF and world bank like aiders of poor countries.
They would give you best option to extract last blood from veins of common people turning them to be vampire or parasite like creatures. Sooner they would share state efforts to reach to failure targets .
If some shortcoming still persists then hire the most corrupt icons from state machinery and political circle on important seats and then expedited the whole procedure of achieving the label of failed state as early as possible,

 

JKOLAK

1:44 AM ET

June 22, 2010

"In Afghanistan, a thriving

"In Afghanistan, a thriving Taliban insurgency, the presence of international troops, and a flawed presidential election have undermined the government's legitimacy."

These are not the factors undermining government legitimacy in Afghanistan. The insurgency isn't the government's fault, and the ISAF is there on an assistance mission.

If the flawed election were the worst problem the government had, it would not be that bad of a government. What really upsets the people is the corruption and bad public officials seemingly using the people to benefit themselves rather than serving to benefit the people.

 

RSAFSOZ

3:11 PM ET

June 23, 2010

Norway

Norway could take an example we can find the answer to all these questions. sikis sex

 

WESTERN

8:19 AM ET

June 27, 2010

USA a failed state

the failed state index is politically directed to the developing countries.It's not a relivable index yet. The so-called developed countries are not that relivablly safe and successful, looking at the world finciancla crisis caused by the USA and a high borrowing rate from the international market, and many other more bankrupting Greek and Iceland government.