Example of a failed state
Do you want to introduce the idea of a failed state, perhaps as a prelude to evaluating the Nigerian state?Anthony Shadid's analysis of Lebanon in the Washington Post, might be a way of helping students recognize the characteristics that earn the epithet, failed state.
As Crises Build, Lebanese Fearful of a Failed State
"Crisis usually defines Lebanon, but these days, the country is navigating threats that many describe in existential terms: a battle, entering its third week, between the Lebanese army and al Qaeda-inspired fighters... a seemingly intractable and altogether separate confrontation between the government and opposition that has paralyzed the state and closed part of downtown Beirut for more than six months; and, as important, deadlock over the choice of the next president by November. Since last year's war in Lebanon between the Shiite Muslim movement Hezbollah and Israel, the United Nations has stepped in twice to assume responsibilities usually left to a sovereign state, forming a court to try the suspected killers of a former prime minister and dispatching an international force to keep peace in the country's south.
"While some analysts see the military's battle against the militants as a way to forge a stronger state, others worry about the prospect of its failure. The threat of civil war still looms large... but the violence and paralysis may suggest a broader breakdown: not civil war, but entropy, where the country becomes hopelessly mired in instability...
"Lebanon's historically weak state -- in contrast to authoritarian neighbors such as Egypt and Syria -- helped to foster the country's redeeming qualities: a freewheeling press, relative freedom of expression and a measure of tolerance. The downsides were the descent into a 15-year civil war that ended in 1990, Syrian dominance that continued until 2005 and the situation today, where Hezbollah maintains its own militia and the country's Palestinian refugee camps are suffused with arms...
posted by Ken Wedding @ 7:27 AM
2 Comments:
Just as I was thinking of a weak, if not failed, state, this report showed up on the BBC World News site.
Nigeria leader demands power fix
"Managers of Nigeria's beleaguered power sector have been told to find a lasting solution to the country's power problems or face a state of emergency.
"Much of the country endures daily power cuts, despite its vast oil wealth...
"Tackling power generation problems was one of Mr Yar'Adua's campaign promises.
"His predecessor, Olusegun Obasanjo, sunk over $10bn into the country's electricity sector over the past seven years with very little to show for it...
"Former President Obasanjo had hoped that transforming the National Electric Power Authority (NEPA) into the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) would lead to improved power supply.
"But as many Nigerians jokingly say, from being a company where they could Never Expect Power Always (NEPA), it has now become Problem Has Changed Name (PHCN)."
Kathryn Green who teaches at Benilde-St. Margaret's School in St. Louis Park, MN, wrote, "If you are looking for another example of a failed state, this week's Economist (Monday, June 4) has an article entitled such about Somalia."
I found this article in the June 2 online edition:
No peace, more terror
"Peace-making is still fraught. A national reconciliation conference of clan elders planned for June 14th will not take place, partly because Mogadishu remains too dangerous for any public gathering..."
An April 26th article in The Economist, It just gets worse, noted, "The officially-recognised but feeble Somali transitional government, the elders of the Hawiye clan (the main one in Mogadishu) and various prominent members of the far-flung Somali diaspora have all failed to accommodate each other and are largely responsible for the present fighting.
"The Somali government has been particularly weak. It has used the latest offensive partly to settle scores with its enemies..."
Post a Comment
<< Home