Is the literature on state failure failing? This article from the Journal of International Development argues that the state failure debate is based on fundamental conceptual flaws that render its insights and recommendations unconvincing in the light of empirical evidence. Analysis of the different trajectories of Somali political orders reveals that state formation in Africa contradicts central tenets of the state failure debate. External state-building interventions should move beyond a focus on the nation-state to recognise and engage with sub-national political entities.
Somalia presents interesting examples of empirical statehood within and beyond the confines of the nation-state. While it is considered to be a protracted case of state collapse, it has actually witnessed the emergence of a number of informal and formal governance systems. Most of these developments have been ignored by both the international community and the state failure literature. Examples include the self-declared Republic Somaliland where inhabitants enjoy a high degree of statehood without formal international recognition and the Islamic Courts movement which was recently crushed by the transitional Somali government with the consent and support of Ethiopia and the international community.
Scholars too readily equate the lack of a central government with failed or anarchical states. Yet, contrary to state-centred approaches, life can and does go on with non-state actors performing many of the functions usually associated with the state. This and three other failings of the state failure literature negatively influence international policy with regard to state formation and stability. These are that:
- Proliferation of discursive labels such as ‘weak’ and ‘fragile’ gloss over important distinctions and mask obvious contradictions in empirical and analytical data.
- The ‘state convergence’ theory asserts that the Western state is the model to which other regions must aspire, assigning failure as a label to those states that do not achieve appropriate levels and ignoring historical evidence that suggests that state formation is varied and complex.
- Recommendations revolve around interventions for the international community to implement to ‘fix’ the state. Yet, the impact of these interventions is not taken into account, nor is the international community’s role in undermining non-traditional state formation.
While it is undeniable that the lack of a functioning central government does severely inhibit many aspects of Somali development and international engagement, the international community must look beyond the traditional scope of the nation-state discourse to fully grasp the reality of the African political landscape. Recommendations include the following:
- Recognise that state failure is a globally embedded phenomenon that surpasses local manifestations of the collapsed state
- Understand political orders and relationships as they are and not as one wishes them to be
- Increase recognition and participation of sub-national units in international politics, as they may be the political orders of the future.
