Failed states: temporary obstacles to democratic diffusion or fundamental holes in the world political map?

In parts of the developing world the fundamental requisite of democracy-stateness-is in recession. This paper engages the literature on failed states with regard to the implications for global democratic diffusion. The heart of the paper summarises and analyses the four main frameworks for assessing...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Third world quarterly 2007-09, Vol.28 (6), p.1055-1071
Main Author: Kraxberger, Brennan M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
African history
Boundaries
Collapsed states
Democracy
Developing countries
Failed states
Historical analysis
International cooperation
International relations
Interventionism
LDCs
Peacetime
Recessions
Sovereign states
Sovereignty
State failure
Statehood
Sub-Saharan Africa
Territories
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Summary:In parts of the developing world the fundamental requisite of democracy-stateness-is in recession. This paper engages the literature on failed states with regard to the implications for global democratic diffusion. The heart of the paper summarises and analyses the four main frameworks for assessing and responding to failed states. The status quo framework regards failed states as sick patients that can be revived. This state revival framework has a mixed track record, however, and many critics. The 'shared sovereignty' framework advocates quasi-permanent intervention in the most difficult cases of state failure. A third approach argues for the recognition of de facto sovereignty and the restructuring of de jure international boundaries when necessary. A fourth framework insists on a historically grounded analysis of modern statehood as a failed global project. The article's final section surveys the stateness - democracy nexus in sub-Saharan Africa.
ISSN:0143-6597
1360-2241
DOI:10.1080/01436590701507420