State failure is one of the biggest challenges facing the international community. How should it respond? This report, drawing on discussions from a symposium organised by the Institute for Public Policy Research and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung foundation, argues that developed countries should improve their policies so that they support poor countries in building more effective states.
The attacks of September 11 and the ensuing military action in Afghanistan and Iraq have pushed state failure to the forefront of the international political agenda. The focus tends to be on the threat posed to developed countries from the conjunction of failed or ‘rogue’ states and international terrorist groups. Yet it is often forgotten that those who suffer most from state failure are poor people living in those states. In many cases, state failure can spread beyond borders and take on a regional dimension. This increases the importance of promoting more effective states. As a result of the Iraq war, building a progressive consensus on intervention and tackling state failure will be more difficult, but is no less crucial. There is a need for greater international engagement and a more co-ordinated, long-term policy response.
State failure takes many different forms and can be defined in various ways. Here ‘failed’ states are identified as those that can no longer deliver public goods, including security. ‘Failing’ states have weak institutions and poor infrastructure and public services, and suffer from rising tensions. State failure matters because:
- In recent years, development agencies have preferred to give aid to states that perform well, they have neglected weaker states with high levels of poverty, insecurity and corruption, exacerbating those conditions.
- Without better systems of government, many such countries are unlikely to meet the Millennium Development Goals, especially in Africa.
- State failure damages the economic prospects of surrounding states. It can also lead to state collapse, triggering regional conflict and instability.
- It contributes to wider global tensions and instability, and may act as a breeding ground for terrorism.
- States that are weak or engaged in conflict tend to give rise to significant migration flows.
The ethics of intervention in the case of state failure are the subject of heated international debate. The report raises key questions regarding the legitimacy of interventions, their cost and consistency. Governments and international organisations should work to establish greater consensus on military intervention for human protection purposes. They should also:
- Improve their analysis of the forces and factors that contribute to state failure and weak governance.
- Tackle problems early and address the underlying causes of state failure through a more joined-up approach to relevant issues and conflict prevention.
- Strengthen regional organisations, which are often best placed to tackle local state failure and can act as a powerful force for stability.
- Make a long-term commitment, including substantial aid resources and, in post-conflict states, a transitional international presence. Developed countries should help build effective institutions in weak states.
- Tighten controls over weapons transfers to states that are failing or engaged in conflict, and crack down on complicity with money laundering and corruption.
- Strengthen regulations to prevent international companies participating in the illegal trade of commodities that fuels conflict, and encourage greater transparency of resource transfers from companies to governments.
