Stress-Testing South Africa: The Tenuous Foundations of One of Africa’s Stable States
By Assis Malaquias. Africa Center for Strategic Studies, July 2011.
Political violence in South Africa is worsening and indicates the country’s potential fragility. Since the end of apartheid, steadily rising inequality has deepened the divide between a wealthy minority and a poor majority. Frustration with an uneven pace of change often ignites into violent protest. Elite competition for financial and political resources available through the state also drives violence within and between competing political parties, usually at the local level where intimidation and assassination are sometimes used to ensure electoral success. Much competition exists in a grey area where the distinction between politics and crime is blurred.
South Africans still overwhelmingly support the democratic process and view the government as legitimate. From this foundation the state can move to head off emerging political violence and stem ebbing public trust. This will require breaking up the current intertwining of political authority and economic opportunity. Citizens must also see tangible evidence that government is interested in the socioeconomic priorities of ordinary people.
Supporting Statebuilding in Situations of Conflict and Fragility: Policy Guidance
By The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2011.
Functioning states are essential to conflict prevention, regional stability, and poverty reduction, yet state fragility remains widespread and currently impacts tens of millions of Africans. Key elements of stabilization strategies include security and justice, revenue and expenditure management, and job creation, but priority should be placed on inclusive state-society interaction and accountability at all times and levels. Download the article: [PDF]
Users’ Guide to Measuring Fragility
By German Development Institute and UN Development Programme, 2009
The increasing centrality of the concept of state fragility to security and development policymaking has prompted the creation of numerous fragility indices in recent years. However, each index uses different combinations of variables to determine fragility and therefore has varying applicability to different policy and planning needs. Typically, a comparative analysis of indices can yield a more complete picture of stability dynamics within fragile states. [PDF]
Cameroon: Fragile State?
International Crisis Group, 2010.
Cameroon rarely garners as much attention as Africa's more turbulent countries, but its political system may prove too rigid to manage a stagnating economy, inequalities embedded in ethnic differences, and extensive corruption. A more transparent and accountable electoral administration system and general respect of the rule of law may better stem various weaknesses from destabilizing the country. [PDF]U.S. Policy Toward Fragile States: An Integrated Approach to Security and Development
U.S. Policy Toward Fragile States: An Integrated Approach to Security and Development. By Stewart Patrick. Center for global Devleopment, 2008.
An updated version of an earlier work by Patrick for the Center for Global Development. Patrick argues that fragile states do not compromise a monolithic phenomenon, but can take on different forms and contribute to a variety of transnational threats in distinct ways. Thus, the U.S. and other international actors must tailor multi-pronged diplomatic, defense, and development (3D) engagement strategies to assist these threats to global security. Patrick reviews U.S. efforts to date, and finds a variety of well-intentioned but ultimately insufficient inter-agency and multi-lateral collaborative efforts. Five specific tasks to overcome this deficient response to transnational threats and state instability are offered for the Obama administration. [PDF]Concepts and Dilemmas of State Building in Fragile Situations: From Fragility to Resilience
By Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, 2008.
State fragility is complex but often begins with a divergence between citizen expectations and a government’s ability to deliver services. Whether caused by unforeseeable exogenous shocks or an erosion of legitimacy due to élite misbehavior, this divergence can be reduced through state-building efforts that prioritize good governance and democratic processes in capacity building efforts. [PDF]
‘State-Building for Peace’: Navigating an Arena of Contradictions
‘State-Building for Peace’: Navigating an Arena of Contradictions. By Alina Rocha Menocal. Overseas Development Institute, 2009. This brief work examines the differences and similarities between "state-building" and "peace-building." Many international actors often conflate the two, with repercussions on programs intended to assist fragile states. For example, efforts to forge peace often require the acceptance of political arrangements that later undermine state stability, such as working with elites at the expense of forming an inclusive government. The authors offer recommendations for donors, some of which may be useful for field practitioners in state-building efforts. [HTML]
Other Reads