25.6.07

Failed States Index

The Fund for Peace publishes an annual report called the Failed States Index. This year it studied 177 countries and rated them on 12 criteria which polled social, economic, and political factors.

A few observations:
  • Canada's three greatest weaknesses are shown to be:
    • Mounting Demographic Pressures
    • Massive Movement of Refugees or Internally Displaced Persons creating Complex Humanitarian Emergencies
    • Uneven Economic Development along Group Lines
  • Only 18 of the 36 most failed states are in Africa
  • The United States is failing as a state better than 17 other countries
  • Guatemala is failing more as a state than Mozambique, Madagascar, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Mali, and Vietnam
  • The 5 countries that are succeeding the most all have high taxes and are in Europe
  • South Africa is the most successful country in Africa
  • Haiti, Columbia, Bolivia, Guatemala are the biggest failures in the western hemisphere and also the sites of US military intervention (and the cause of much of the failure)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting that the 5 countries that are succeeding all have high taxes. They are probably the ones that pay for everything for their citizens. I wonder if the people doing this index are VERY left leaning and that is what is most important.

The ones that are failing are probably not doing everything for their citizens and thus have scored low.

Zaak said...

I don't think they are especially left leaning. It's about promoting sustainable security and peace. The ones failing as states are killing their citizens outright.

These are the criteria:

***Social Indicators
I-1. Mounting Demographic Pressures
I-2. Massive Movement of Refugees or Internally Displaced Persons creating Complex Humanitarian Emergencies
I-3. Legacy of Vengeance-Seeking Group Grievance or Group Paranoia
I-4. Chronic and Sustained Human Flight

***Economic Indicators
I-5. Uneven Economic Development along Group Lines
I-6. Sharp and/or Severe Economic Decline

***Political Indicators
I-7. Criminalization and/or Delegitimization of the State
I-8. Progressive Deterioration of Public Services
I-9. Suspension or Arbitrary Application of the Rule of Law and Widespread Violation of Human Rights
I-10. Security Apparatus Operates as a "State Within a State"
I-11. Rise of Factionalized Elites
I-12. Intervention of Other States or External Political Actors