Rethinking responses to state failure, with special reference to Africa

State failure is both a key cause and symptom of underdevelopment in Africa. This article provides a geopolitical perspective on the reasons for state failure in Africa, and offers the following solutions to dealing with this phenomenon. First, local and external actors should prioritize state build...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Progress in development studies 2012-04, Vol.12 (2-3), p.99-111
Main Author: Kraxberger, Brennan M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accountability
Africa
Corruption in government
Democratization
Economic development
Geopolitics
Governance
Guardians
Politics
Sovereignty
State building
State failure
Studies
Territorial issues
Underdevelopment
Violence
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:State failure is both a key cause and symptom of underdevelopment in Africa. This article provides a geopolitical perspective on the reasons for state failure in Africa, and offers the following solutions to dealing with this phenomenon. First, local and external actors should prioritize state building and order over quick democratization. Second, in rare cases, the principle of national sovereignty may be overridden in the interests of security and development. Third, in very carefully selected cases, international boundaries may need to be redrawn.
ISSN:1464-9934
1477-027X
DOI:10.1177/146499341101200302