Precipitating state failure: do civil wars and violent non-state actors create failed states?

This article examines whether the incidence of civil wars and the presence of violent non-state actors have an effect on state failure. Research on failed states has thus far prioritised armed conflicts as one of the key causes of state failure. This study challenges that claim and posits that civil...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Third world quarterly 2017-09, Vol.38 (9), p.1973-1989
Main Author: Aliyev, Huseyn
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
armed conflict
Civil war
Failed state
Non-state actors
Quantitative analysis
State failure
state fragility
Violence
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Summary:This article examines whether the incidence of civil wars and the presence of violent non-state actors have an effect on state failure. Research on failed states has thus far prioritised armed conflicts as one of the key causes of state failure. This study challenges that claim and posits that civil war incidence has limited impact on the transition from fragility to failure. Global quantitative analysis of state failure processes from 1995 to 2014 shows that although armed conflicts are widespread in failed states, civil violence does not lead to state failure and large numbers of failed states become engulfed by civil war only after the failure occurs. By contrast, this study demonstrates a direct link between the presence of violent non-state actors and state failure.
ISSN:0143-6597
1360-2241
DOI:10.1080/01436597.2017.1319276