Understanding Failed States

Photo by Seth Doyle on Unsplash

This past week I stumbled on a Medium article titled Why Some States Fail by a writer named D. Andre. It was immensely fascinating for me because it presented in a fairly concise manner the causes of failed states.

"Failed state" is one of those phrases that gets bandied about that many people do not have a clear definition of in their minds. In fact, there are a lot of things that get talked about in which words or ideas are used, but people have fuzzy ideas about. For fear of appearing stupid they don't dare ask (let's say it is a meeting or work or just a bull session) and later the moment slides and we're flitting into other topics or activities.

As a result, people absorb all manner of ideas uncritically, even without fully understanding their implications.

All this to say, Failed States can be defined in this manner:
A failed state is a state whose political or economic system has become so weak that the government is no longer in control.

What I like about the Medium platform, and blogging in general, is the opportunity to engage the author, the ease with which you may comment and request sources or links to additional reading.

There are people who have studied these kinds of topics in depth, but like economics in general, it seems tedious and boring compared to Monday Night Football or (choose your poison). And yet, 97% of the electorate will make decisions as regards our country's leadership with limited to no understanding of many basics essential to what makes a country succeed or fail. This is a potential downside to democracies.

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THE ACTUAL REASON I want to write about failed states today though was not for political purposes. Rather, it was because as I read Andre's article, along with a Foreign Policy article 10 Reasons Countries Fall Apart, it stimulated my thinking as regards reasons why companies fall apart. I wondered if failed states and failed businesses have some things in common. For example, why did GM and Chrysler require a federal bailout and Ford did not? (There are reasons!)

If, however, I am to use failed states as a metaphor for failed businesses, it seemed a useful idea to lay the groundwork here so that in my next exploration of this theme (failed companies) I can refer back to these articles and ideas related to failed states.

Foreign Policy and the Fund for Peace have been annually publishing a Failed States Index, listing the most vulnerable or broken countries in the world. It's eye-opening, and many of the names are familiar to anyone who has been followed the news these past 40 years. Observers have noted that failed states have a number of common attributes.

A fragile state has several attributes. Common indicators include a state whose central government is so weak or ineffective that it has little practical control over much of its territory; non-provision of public services; widespread corruption and criminality; refugees and involuntary movement of populations; and sharp economic decline.  

I know that we are unhappy with our potholes in Duluth. Things could be worse.

TO BE CONTINUED

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Related Links
10 Reasons Countries Fall Apart
Failed States Index
Why States Fail