Transcript Failing States: Role in a Deteriorating World

Failing States: Role in a
Deteriorating World
By Andrew Olsen
March 23, 2010
What Makes a Country
a Failing State
 12 Indicators Categorized by 3 Types
Social Indicators
Economic Indicators
Political Indicators
 177 countries as of 2009 are listed on
the Failed State Index as compared to
146 in 2006 and 75 in 2005
Twelve Indicators:
Social Indicators
1. Mounting Demographic Pressures
High Population Density, Lack of Freedom for Human & Physical Activity,
Disputes over Settlements, Skewed Population Distribution
2. Internally Displaced Persons
Violence, Repression, Disease, Dirty Water, Competition
3. Group Paranoia
Persecutions, Fighting Based on Group Differences, Political
Exclusion
4. Sustained Human Flight
Emigration by Intellects and Middle Class, Exile
Twelve Indicators:
Economic Indicators
5. Uneven Economic Development
Inequality in Education and Jobs, Impoverishment
6. Economic Decline
Devaluation of Currency, Illegal Trafficking, Decreased
Per Capita Income
Twelve Indicators:
Political Indicators
7. Delegitimization of the State
Corruption, Loss of Confidence in Institutions, Increase im
Crime
8. Deterioration of Public Services
Absence of State Functions, Lack of Agencies Serving
Governing Body
9. Widespread Violation of Human Rights
Doctorial Military Rule, Political Violence, Increase in
Political Prisoners
Twelve Indicators:
Political Indicators (cont’d)
10. Violence from Security
Small Private Militias to Eliminate Political Competition,
Rival Militias, Guerilla Forces, and Private Armies.
11. Fractionalized Elites
Fragmentation of State Institutions
12. External Political Actors
Overdependence on Foreign Aid and Peace Making.
A Review: The World’s
Failing States
Rank
C ountry
Score Rank C ountry
1 Somalia
114.7
11 C ote de Ivoire
2 Zimbabwe
114.0
12 Haiti
3 Sudan
112.4
13 Burma
4 C had
112.2
14 Kenya
5 Democratic Republic of the C ongo 108.7
15 Nigeria
6 Iraq
108.6
16 Ethiopia
7 A fganis tan
108.2
17 North Korea
8 C entral A frican Republic
105.4
18 Y emen
9 Guinea
104.6
19 Banglades h
10 P akistan
104.1
20 T imor-Les te
Brown, Lester Russell. Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to save Civilization. New York: W. W. Norton, 2009. Print.
Score
102.5
101.8
101.5
101.4
99.8
98.9
98.3
98.1
98.1
97.2
Somalia
 President is Sharif Ahmed
 He issued a statement to the
Guardian, a UK News Source (March
7, 2010)
 He does not consider his country a
failing state, but he implores the
help of other countries
 He is developing ways to defeat the
terrorists in his country
 By organizing ways to defeat
terrorists, he does not consider
Somalia a failing state
"Somalia Is Not a Failed State | Sharif Ahmed | Comment Is Free | The Guardian." Latest News, Comment and Reviews from the Guardian | Guardian.co.uk.
"Somalia Map AFRICA - Country Map of Somalia." Greece Map (Grecia) | Detailed Map of Greece
In the News of Recent in the
US
 April 2009: Somalian Pirates take
Control of US Cargo Ship
 After freeing crew, Captain is
Kidnapped
 Pirate killed by US Navy Sharpshooters
while at Sea
What to do with Somalia?
 Can we consider them as bad as a
failing states as aforementioned? Yes
 Signs of a strong leader are
encouraging
 Recently, Sharif Ahmed signed with a
militia (Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca) to help
lead in military offensive on enemies
to the administration
Civil War on the Rise?
 Sharif Ahmed wants to rid his country
of terrorism
 No outside support has yet
 What can people in countries like the
USA do?
Haiti: #12
 Everyone is aware of
the recent Earthquake
to devastate the
country
 Billions of dollars have
been raised
 Is this really the right
way of going about it?
"Haiti Earthquake Appeals Raise Millions - Mirror.co.uk." News Headlines, Celebs and Football - Mirror.co.uk
Money to Haiti?
 Reuters, an economic news source in the US,
states that sending money is not going to
work
 Only mobilizing man power can help Haiti
 Destination of Money unknown: Primary
recipient is a charity called Yele
 Yele have only one tax filing in 12-year
history
 No monitoring that money is going to Haiti
What to do for Somalia,
Haiti, and others?
 Money is hard to track, therefore what
you may be donating may not be for
what it is being used for
 The UN is raising money to send
manpower to Haiti; manpower is the
most logical solution
Increasing Population
 17 of the top 20 failing states are in
the top 100 countries that have the
highest rate of population growth in
2008
 More People=More Resources
 Somalia is 21, Haiti is 35
 Population control in necessary
Lowest GDP
 17 of the 20 Failing States are in the
top 50 countries with the lowest GDP
per capita
Think…
 Which would solve the other:
Solving population problems would solve
GDP problems
Solving GDP problems would solve
population problems
Stop Population Growth,
Lower GDP Per Capita
 Education must be provided to these
failing states to stop population growth
 GDP per capita is based on population,
with decreasing population, higher GDP
 Man power is the answer to improve
education
Leasing of Land
"FROM SUPPLY TO FOOD SECURITY | UNEP/GRID-Arendal - Publications - The Environmental Food Crisis."
Our Failing States Leasing
Land
 4 of the top 5 Failing States have other
countries using their farmland
 Sudan
 Chad
 Zimbabwe
 Democratic Republic of the Congo
 Others on the List
 Pakistan
 1/5 of Failing States listed has their land
being leased
Sustainability
 Problems are evident in these
countries
 Overpopulation is a big issue
 Lack of food is a problem
 Governments are not stable enough to
fix these problems
What Can be Done
 Money is not working
 Sending resources would be a better option:
 People for education and to restructure
government and economy
 Food, water, building supplies
 Reducing poverty would reduce problems in
these countries
 Decrease population
 Give the people the land
 Regulate the inter-country leasing of farmland
What Can We Do
 Develop ways to send resources to the
Failing States
 Keep Informed
 As a regular person, there is not much
we can do. The governments of
“successful” countries need to be
motivated.
Works Cited
"Al Jazeera English - Africa - Somalia Signs Deal with Militia." Al Jazeera English - AJE. Web. 23 Mar. 2010.
<http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/03/20103165416919724.html>.
Brown, Lester Russell. Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to save Civilization. New York: W. W. Norton, 2009. Print.
"FROM SUPPLY TO FOOD SECURITY | UNEP/GRID-Arendal - Publications - The Environmental Food Crisis." UNEP/GRID-Arendal - Home.
Web. 23 Mar. 2010. <http://www.grida.no/publications/rr/food-crisis/page/3570.aspx>.
"The Fund for Peace - Failed States Index FAQ." Welcome to the Fund for Peace. Web. 23 Mar. 2010.
<http://www.fundforpeace.org/web/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=102&Itemid=327#3>.
"Haiti Earthquake Appeals Raise Millions - Mirror.co.uk." News Headlines, Celebs and Football - Mirror.co.uk. Web. 23 Mar. 2010.
<http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2010/01/16/haiti-earthquake-appeals-raise-millions-115875-21971249/>.
"Hostage Captain Rescued; Navy Snipers Kill 3 Pirates - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News.
Web. 23 Mar. 2010. <http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/africa/04/12/somalia.pirates/>.
"List of Poorest Countries in the World." World Rankings and Records. Web. 23 Mar. 2010.
<http://www.aneki.com/countries.php?t=Poorest_Countries_in_the_World&table=fb129&places=*=*&order=asc&decimals=-&dependency=independent&number=all&cntdn=asc&r=-89-90-91-92-93-94-95-96-97-98-99-100-101-102-103&c=&measures=Country-GDP%20per%20capita&file=poorest>.
"PE Html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd" Dont Give Money to
Haiti | Analysis & Opinion | Reuters." Reuters.com. Web. 23 Mar. 2010. <http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2010/01/15/dont-give-money-to-haiti/>.
"Population Growth Rate by Country. Definition, Graph and Map." NationMaster - World Statistics, Country Comparisons. Web. 23 Mar. 2010.
<http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/peo_pop_gro_rat-people-population-growth-rate>.
"Somalia Is Not a Failed State | Sharif Ahmed | Comment Is Free | The Guardian." Latest News, Comment and Reviews from the Guardian |
Guardian.co.uk. Web. 23 Mar. 2010. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2010/mar/07/somalia-failed-state-al-qaida>.
"Somalia Map AFRICA - Country Map of Somalia." Greece Map (Grecia) | Detailed Map of Greece. Web. 23 Mar. 2010. <http://www.greecemap.net/africa/somalia-map.htm>.