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| This special issue on failed states
has been possible thanks to the support of the |
Photograph: Khanh Renaud
| Special issue: Failed States |
| The world’s “tough neighborhoods” Jean-Paul Marthoz  |
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| Massacres in the African Great Lakes Region, disorder
in the Caucasus, endless crises in Bolivia, violence in Afghanistan…the
state’s inability to guarantee security and stability has become
one of the crucial stakes riding on international politics, for disorder
in fragile states sends shock waves – transnational crime, terrorism,
migration, and smuggling – into the very hearts of the Western
powers. The international community has made of this issue of failed
states one of its strategic priorities, whereas in the South civil
society is trying increasingly to pull through. INVESTIGATION continue |
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| Failed states: The power of words
Susan L. Woodward |
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The term "failed state" has become mainstream, yet its definition
remains vague and controversial. A carefully thought out analysis
of this phenomenon, its causes, and its consequences is vital, for
in an international environment marked by influence strategies and
the globalisation of threats, words are not painless. ANALYSIS continue |
| Liberia: the diamonds of terror Douglas Farah In exile in Nigeria since 2003, Liberia's former president, Charles Taylor, is a "state breaker". His violence, plundering of natural resources, and links with criminal networks and international terrorists have had disastrous effects in West Africa and contributed to al-Qaeda's emergence. INVESTIGATION of a criminal state. continue |
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| Ituri, a lawless area Jean-Marc Biquet |
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Arriving in Bunia, the capital of Ituri District, is
like entering a fortified town. The town is an island in the middle
of the forest, secured since Operation Artemis in the summer of 2003
by thousands of UN Blue Helmets. Shots are rarely heard in town, but
the characteristic rumble of tanks patrolling at night remind one
that Bunia is isolated at the heart of a region that for the most
part remains in thrall to uncontrolled militias. REPORT continue |
| How to function without a State? Roland Marchal |
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| "Failed State", "civil war": These
words generally elicit images of destruction, destitution, and widespread
poverty. The example of Somalia urges us to distance ourselves from
these common representations and think about the conditions under
which its economy was able to develop in a context of war without
relying on a State but maintaining vital links with full-fledged members
of the international order such as Dubai, Ethiopia, and Kenya. ANALYSIS continue |
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| Crime without border Ana Arana |
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The explosion of ordinary crime that has been aided
and abetted by transnational criminal gangs - maras -jeopardises
development and democracy in Central America. The threat extends
to the entire region, up to and including the United States. INVESTIGATION |
| Latin America The logic of interference Juan Gabriel Tokatlian |
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| Fragile states can scarcely be quarantined. Their problems spill over into neighbouring countries and challenge the governments that pride themselves on guaranteeing a certain international order. The author analyses the case of the Andean region, which is on the verge of becoming ungovernable, to the point of providing the United States with arguments for a strategy of political interference and military intervention as during the Cold War.
ANALYSIS continue |
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| Development to the state’s rescue
Xavier Zeebroek |
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How to meet the challenge of failed or fragile states?
Those who stress the threats that they represent for the international
community often advocate direct intervention, even placing them
under international trusteeship. But might it not be better to rethink
development aid? Could not part of this aid be devoted to rebuilding
a collapsed state, and thus financing its security forces, for example?
For the richest donors, the answer is clearly in the affirmative.
The author nevertheless points out the risks and difficulties to
which the necessary restoration of the rule of law and thus the
state’s power gives rise. ANALYSIS |
| Mozambique: Peace is not enough Michel Cahen |
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| After years of conflict, Mozambique is seen as a success
story. However, the return to peace has not solved everything: The
government's neo-liberal economic policy could spawn social and ethnic
tensions that even the civil war had not produced. Interview continue |
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| Elections: The citizens and Churches are mobilising Colette Braeckman |
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Despite the violence reigning in eastern DRC, the
civil society is resisting and reacting as citizens to the arbitrariness
and brutality to which they are subjected. The churches are at the
heart of this mobilisation and taking active part in preparations
for elections that are considered antidotes to the war and declining
State. ANALYSIS |
| Letter from Nepal. Only one response: human
rights Tejshree Thapa |
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| What can the international community do when a fragile
state that is caught up in armed conflict chooses dictatorship? Push
firmly for the restoration of democracy and upholding of human rights.
OPINION continue |
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 ESPAÑOL PORTUGUÊS |
"ESTADOS FALLIDOS" Complete issue in Spanish |
"ESTADOS FALHADOS" Complete issue in Portuguese |
 EUROPE
QUIET POWER |
| A transatlantic relationship for progressives |
| With this article of Sherle
Schwenninger, of the New America Foundation and the World Policy
Institute, Enjeux internationaux starts a reflection on the foreign
and security policy of the European Union and Atlantic relations
that will lead to a conference early May in Brussels sponsored
by the magazine, the GRIP (Group of research and information on
peace and security), the Pôle Bernheim pour la paix (Brussels
University) and the Royal Institute of International Relations. |
