Impacts from State Failure and Intervention over Sovereingty §

Although there are endless scholarly debates on how to measure a collapsed or fragile state. It is undeniable that failed states brings many problems with it. This essay will first categorize 3 levels of significant problems created by a state failure. They are the international, regional, and national level. The paper will further argue that the regional impacts of state failure is the most real and concerning issue for the international community, specifically neighboring nations. Finally, the essay will explain how the regional contagion of state failure is the most significant threat to international security.

On the global level, state failure and collapse could be argued to increase the threat of terrorism and its operations. First of all, a failed state would allow terrorist, extremist, or rebel groups to take hold in the power vacuum. Consequently, the state could act as a lobby or safe shelter for any terrorist operations all over the world. An example could be made of the case of Afghanistan, which collapsed in 1978 during the Soviet Union’s (USSR) intervention due to local rebellion groups against a failing central government. Since then, a Taliban ruled Afghanistan sheltered Al-Qaeda, which led to the events of September 11th. Following Somalia’s overthrow of the Barre government in 1991, it also became a shelter for pirates in the Gulf of Aden, since Somalia itself is embroiled in clan fighting. For this reason, there have been attempts of external interventions with cause of “international security threats” such as the cases of The USSR in the 1980s and the United States (US) in the 2000s. However, the validity of the argument of the need of intervention for counter-terrorism purposes is widely criticized and will be analyzed in the last part of the paper.

In a smaller scope, the surrounding region of a fragile or collapsed state does experience notable threat. It has been shown that conflicts in a failing state such as civil unrest, economic downfall, civil war, rebellions, and the fail of the central government can easily spread to neighboring countries. This contagion can be in the form of fleeing refugees from the fragile state in seek of shelter. The host country could also suffer economic stoppage. Such in the case of the previously mentioned collapsed Somalia, which not only intrastate conflict within the country, but also became a burden for its neighbors such as Ethiopia and Yemen. Rebel groups of a neighboring country could build a sanctuary on the failed state bordering their country, which gives them the advantage of centralized organization and safe shelter in preparations. Therefore, the fragility of one state in a region could be the catalyst to further instability and state collapses, similar to the domino effect.

Down at the national or local level, it can easily be seen where the failing state itself and its people are suffering from economic collapse; either from the devaluation of currency, disruption of trade and commence, or the shut down of agricultural or industrial production. As the monopoly on violence and authority falls from a centralized government, there will be those who seeks to fill its role. Insurgent groups, clans, warlords, or terrorist groups can challenge each other for power which leads to protracted civil wars. Even in cases of one defacto party ruling the country, there would be widespread human rights violations and the failure to provide the public goods a functioning state is able to its citizens. Furthermore, they would be able to recruit unemployed young men to fight after the state failed to provide for their needs.

The threat which seems to be most concerning to international security would be the regional spread of civil unrest and instability. The problem of these failed states is that they lead to protracted and extended conflicts without end. The existence of a collapsed state as your neighbor could mean the likelihood of a rebellion in your own country, not to mention the negative economic impacts it already comes with. Most importantly, the possibility that one collapsed state would lead to another and another is concerning, not just to the initial neighbors. Furthermore, a failed state is difficult to correct as demonstrated by the U.S.S.R. and the U.S.’s 8 years and 20 years of state building respectively, which both failed.

Lastly, external intervention on the basis of correcting a fragile or failed state over the universal principle of sovereignty should be reconsidered. As mentioned, on the international level, a powerful state might use the reason of “threat of terrorism” to spread fear in the international community and justify a violation of sovereignty, as shown in the U.S. in Afghanistan. The U.S. has also used other reasons for stepping over sovereignty as well such as the 2003 invasion of Iraq, which was authorized by the United Nations on false grounds. Not only that, but these unneeded external interventions are often disposed by even the civilians as they cause more harm than good and extend the conflict further.

All in all, state failure is a recently prominent topic which should be studied more closely as non-state actors are able to have more control of international relations than before, such as the Taliban ruling Afghanistan nowadays. The collapse of a state not only influence its own people, but also its neighbors and the international community in this globalized and interconnected world.

IS409 Mid Term Exam §

• What are the major problems that could result from State Failure?
• International Level
  • Lets Terrorism, rebel group, or extremist groups to govern a country or be an home base for terrorism organization all over the world (there are critics on this)
    • After War in Afghanistan
  • The validity of the claim is criticized and will be argued against in the last part of the essay.
• Regional Level
  • Conflicts that led to state failure could spread to neighboring countries
  • Many refugees fleeing to neighboring countries when the state was weakening
  • Failing states normally becomes the center for illegal trading
• National Level
  • Loss of economic growth
    • Sanctions
    • Disruption of local trade, production (agriculture, industry) and international exports/import
  • Monopoly on violence is not in the hands of governments anymore
    • Civil war between non-state groups
    • Insurgents, warlords, terrorist groups are powerful
      • Ability to recruit unemployed young men to fight after state failed to provide for their needs
      • Ex: Afghanistan
    • Human Rights abuses
  • Failure to provide public goods ¹
• Which one do you think is the most severe threat to international security?
  • International security mostly fixes on Military security and economic security
    • Economics: The Globalization and War or instability makes for bad global economy.
      • Almost all countries and sensitive to global economic changes
    • Security:
• Do you think the principle of sovereignty should be ignored in order to resolve the threats? Explain.
  • But counter-terrorism shouldn’t be an excuse for intervention in a fragile/failed state

References §

Footnotes §

1. Moritz, J. (2013). The Concept of “State Failure” and Contemporary Security and Development Challenges. State Failure, 9. ↩