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http://hdl.handle.net/2123/2156
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| Title: | Anatomy of State Failure |
| Authors: | Townshend, Ashley Department of Government and International Relations |
| Keywords: | The state Failed states Zaire (The Democratic Republic of the Congo) Afghanistan Yugoslavia Comparative politics Third world politics International security Intra-state war Capital Coercion |
| Issue Date: | 19-Dec-2007 |
| Series/Report no.: | Govt Hons Thesis |
| Abstract: | Abstract In the 1990s, failed states emerged as a pernicious threat to both regional security and the wellbeing of millions of people worldwide. While this phenomenon has been welldocumented, explaining why and how states fail has proved to be a complex analytical task. As most scholars have viewed state failure as an anarchic and idiosyncratic occurrence, there has been little attempt to develop theoretical explanations for state failure. This study seeks to reverse this trend. In contrast to existing research, it contends that there was an underlying causal logic to all instances of state failure in the 1990s. To this end, it proposes an analytical model for understanding the causes and the process of state failure in general theoretical terms. There are two main components to this model. First, it claims that four common factors caused state failure in the 1990s: a flawed political structure; an economic crisis; a loss of state legitimacy; and systemic pressures. Second, it argues that the process of state failure represents a profound decrease in and decentralisation of state capital and coercive power. Through a comparative study of state failure in Zaïre, Afghanistan and Yugoslavia, the utility of this model as a theoretical tool for understanding why and how states fail is established. |
| Description: | Hons Thesis The author has requested that the file not a available for open access. |
| URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/2123/2156 |
| ISSN: | N/A |
| Department/Unit/Centre: | Department of Government and International Relations |
| Appears in Collections: | Honours Theses Honours Theses - Government and International Relations |
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