Fragile States : Causes And Impact

The defining characteristic of the state is the ability to wield power. The use of power, both inside and outside of one’s border, directly speaks to the sovereignty of the nation. If a nation is incapable of disciplining or punishing its citizens it will invariably become a failed state. Moreover if a country isn’t recognized as powerful in the global political arena, that country stands a very good chance of being dominated by a nation who has the capacity to enforce its own will. The use, or at least the perception, of power is so fundamental in nationhood that those who wield the most power can easily dictate world events.

The key drivers of uncertainty for ISIS in these scenarios include its ability to management its level fundamentalism and stability within its environment. Muslim conduct Islamic fundamentalism when they live and project on to others the original interpretation of Muhammed teachings. The most radical fundamentalism is Wahhabi or Salafist, supporting the conservative and extreme interpretation of the Quran and Sharia Law. ISIS uses its radical fundamentalist interpretation of Quran and Sharia Law to conduct its killing, caliphate and management its people. Due to its major combat losses, ISIS may want a less aggressive approach of fundamentalism to be more appealing to large portions of the Muslim community. The moderate fundamentalism approach used the both the uses the Quran and Sharia Law as well but used political governance or over more aggressive violence to achieve its strategic objectives. To regain personnel and strengthen its forces, ISIS may want to consider globalism over nationalism to improve stability. Although Globalism promotes international investment along with the spread of ideas and culture to other nations, ISIS may want to engage with Nationalism approach to strength it based in Iraq or Syria. All four scenarios review the importance of both fundamentalism and stability as major driving factors projecting the future of an uncertain

• Researched, edited and finalized: State Fragility Around the World: Fractured Justice and Fierce Reprisal (CRC Press,

As displayed during the overthrow of the government in Libya and Egypt in 2011 as well as the ongoing conflict in Syria, there is an uncertainty of government in many nations. This

At its current position, the Iraqi government is slightly more stable, but not good enough. Over the past few years, Iraq has approved a constitution, begun holding parliamentary and provincial elections, but groups are still competing to have the most control over Iraq’s central government. Iraq’s government is weak; during an interview with Kurdish Iraqi President Fuad Masum, has few to no answers

During its preparations for the invasion, the United States made several errors based upon flawed assumptions, to include the apportionment of an inadequate number of military forces to provide security following the conclusion of major combat operations. As Iraq no longer possessed a sufficient domestic capacity to stem the increasing insurgent violence and the Coalition lacked enough forces to protect the population, this situation proved conducive to the growth and proliferation of the insurgency. Additionally, the De-Ba’athification program undermined the constituent components of governance in Iraq. As the state was unable to exercise domestic governance, the CPA, whose legitimacy Iraqis questioned, implicitly assumed responsibility for enforcing the rule of law, the deterrence of criminality, and the prevention of political violence. As the United States did not resource the CPA to execute these actions across the entirety of Iraq and because of its policy errors undertaken in the early days of the occupation, the Iraqi state deteriorated, which isolated the population and allowed for the cultivation of an insurgent

In a realist world, states have “supreme power” over its territory and population, there is an absence of a higher authority. The fact that there is no higher authority has its consequences. States become self-interested, they compete for power and security. It can lead states to continuously struggle for power “where the strong dominate the weak (Kegley, 28).” This ultimately creates a system in which each state is responsible for its own survival, making them cautious towards their neighboring states. In addition, a realist world is a self-help system; “political leaders seek to enhance national security” by building armies and forming alliances (Kegley, 28). Economic and military power are key components to a state sovereignty and to national security.

After the 2012 Tuareg Rebellion, Mali has not recovered from the political unrest. The country has multiple factions fighting for complete power or independence from Mali as a country according to Adolphus Washington of Global Risk Insights. These factions have geographic spheres of influence throughout Northern and Southern Mali which are based on tribal and/or religious origins. Consequently, using Paulette Kurzer’s definition of a state being a country with a supreme power to make and enforce; Mali does not meet these requirements. There are too many local areas whom are being ruled by various factions to say that the national government meets the requirements to be a state. Not only has the Malian government failed on multiple occasions, Mali has required French intervention to enforce the law when the government was incapable. Therefore, the government of Mali is not a supreme power over the divided nation, leaving it unable to create or enforce laws to help the country.

The country of Iraq, a country that once had a flourishing society with a strong middle class and a solid religious background. That is now a country struggling to maintain economic growth, and failing to ensure the safety and wellbeing of its people, which has in turn produced a new terrorist group known as ISIS. Due to the instability of the Iraqi government and the development of ISIS, Iraq has become an unstable society, creating uncertainty, fear, and worry for the entire world.

When a country that has a strong nationalistic sentiment endures a regime rupture, it may be unwise or unnecessary to intervene, since the transition trajectory should proceed without serious violence and because it is the role of the political ideological cleavages of that country to settle disputes regarding what the next government of the nation-state will look like. However, when a country without strong nationalism experiences regime rupture, intervention is potentially wise and necessary, since the non-nation state will have the propensity to experience serious violence and the potential for breakup as a geopolitical unit, as sub-national groups vie for territory and control.

Often times the issues behind fragile states refer back to their roots within history and how the states were first structured. For example, when fragile states were first colonized their borders were poorly drawn by Westerners, causing land and structural inequalities (Belgasmi). This resulted in many land disputes and clashes against different religious and ethnic groups. In addition to land disputes, these fragile states have weak governmental structures. Other causes can range anywhere from economical, political, and environmental, to ethnic or resource based. For example, a fairly recent conflict related to these issues would be Darfur, where "an estimated three to six million people have been affected by the conflict" (Hermanson), many of which live in high levels of poverty. Ever since their independence in 1917, they have had a rough time with destabilization from Military coups, natural disasters, and conflict between the North and South (Belgasmi). Innocent civilians in Darfur have been targets of armed conflicts since 1983 (Islam), even though the Darfurian conflict was not recognized to have started until 2003. It is identified as the longest ongoing conflict in Africa (Islam) and one of the most complex and challenging, on an economic and political level "due to structure of society, population displacement

Fragile states are a frequent source of conflicts and various humanitarian crises. These states not only poison itself but also neighboring countries due to its spread of instability, insecurity, and poor economic abilities. Fragile states need aid from the international community. However, countries who have tried to give assistance did not make the situations better. These aid givers lack the knowledge of the workings of the fragile state. Instead, they focus on the symptoms of the problem and hardly the actual complications themselves. CSIS held a meeting to examine four fragile states and determined donors needed: to create a better balance between national, regional, state, and local authorities, a better understanding of the society,

As previous history from the Middle East has shown American involvement is to a fairly large extent more likely to aggravate the threat of regional stability posed by ISIS. The ISIS militants are an extremist religious group whose aim is to create an Islamic state, or caliphate (a state where there is a supreme political and religious leader) across the Middle East. They have made most ground in Syria and Iraq, with their sphere of influence swelling to ‘territory the size of the UK’ (Johnston, 2014). This essay will assess a range of factors in order to efficiently answer the question. Firstly, this essay will contextualize

All these important questions about terror and insecurity are a considerable part of the subject of international politics. In this regard, scholars have dedicated decades for understanding the relations between states in political, economic, social, and other

The rise of terrorist organizations post 9/11 has challenged nation-state borders and their sovereignty. The presence of insurgencies and terrorist organizations has begun to affect the legitimacy of governments externally and their internal sovereignty.