Failed States

Abstract

Failed states are states that are incapable of exercising sovereignty over their territories and populations. That is, a failed or failing state (depending on the degree of incapacity) is one that is no longer capable of carrying out the most basic governing responsibilities, such as the enforcement of the rule of law and the provision of security throughout its territory, control of its borders, maintenance of its basic infrastructure and revenue extraction processes, and interaction with other states in the global arena as an independent decision-making entity as regards its own diplomacy, treaties, and international agreements. A combination of internal and external factors may contribute to state failure.