Failing States: Role in a Deteriorating World By Andrew Olsen March 23, 2010

What Makes a Country a Failing State  12 Indicators Categorized by 3 Types  Social Indicators  Economic Indicators  Political Indicators  177 countries as of 2009 are listed on the Failed State Index as compared to 146 in 2006 and 75 in 2005

Twelve Indicators: Social Indicators 1. Mounting Demographic Pressures High Population Density, Lack of Freedom for Human & Physical Activity, Disputes over Settlements, Skewed Population Distribution 2. Internally Displaced Persons Violence, Repression, Disease, Dirty Water, Competition 3. Group Paranoia Persecutions, Fighting Based on Group Differences, Political Exclusion 4. Sustained Human Flight Emigration by Intellects and Middle Class, Exile

Twelve Indicators: Economic Indicators 5. Uneven Economic Development Inequality in Education and Jobs, Impoverishment 6. Economic Decline Devaluation of Currency, Illegal Trafficking, Decreased Per Capita Income

Twelve Indicators: Political Indicators 7. Delegitimization of the State Corruption, Loss of Confidence in Institutions, Increase im Crime 8. Deterioration of Public Services Absence of State Functions, Lack of Agencies Serving Governing Body 9. Widespread Violation of Human Rights Doctorial Military Rule, Political Violence, Increase in Political Prisoners

Twelve Indicators: Political Indicators (cont’d) 10. Violence from Security Small Private Militias to Eliminate Political Competition, Rival Militias, Guerilla Forces, and Private Armies. 11. Fractionalized Elites Fragmentation of State Institutions 12. External Political Actors Overdependence on Foreign Aid and Peace Making.

A Review: The World’s Failing States Brown, Lester Russell. Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to save Civilization. New York: W. W. Norton, Print.

Somalia  President is Sharif Ahmed  He issued a statement to the Guardian, a UK News Source (March 7, 2010)  He does not consider his country a failing state, but he implores the help of other countries  He is developing ways to defeat the terrorists in his country  By organizing ways to defeat terrorists, he does not consider Somalia a failing state "Somalia Is Not a Failed State | Sharif Ahmed | Comment Is Free | The Guardian." Latest News, Comment and Reviews from the Guardian | Guardian.co.uk. "Somalia Map AFRICA - Country Map of Somalia." Greece Map (Grecia) | Detailed Map of Greece

In the News of Recent in the US  April 2009: Somalian Pirates take Control of US Cargo Ship  After freeing crew, Captain is Kidnapped  Pirate killed by US Navy Sharpshooters while at Sea

What to do with Somalia?  Can we consider them as bad as a failing states as aforementioned? Yes  Signs of a strong leader are encouraging  Recently, Sharif Ahmed signed with a militia (Ahlu Sunna Waljamaca) to help lead in military offensive on enemies to the administration

Civil War on the Rise?  Sharif Ahmed wants to rid his country of terrorism  No outside support has yet  What can people in countries like the USA do?

Haiti: #12  Everyone is aware of the recent Earthquake to devastate the country  Billions of dollars have been raised  Is this really the right way of going about it? "Haiti Earthquake Appeals Raise Millions - Mirror.co.uk." News Headlines, Celebs and Football - Mirror.co.uk

Money to Haiti?  Reuters, an economic news source in the US, states that sending money is not going to work  Only mobilizing man power can help Haiti  Destination of Money unknown: Primary recipient is a charity called Yele  Yele have only one tax filing in 12-year history  No monitoring that money is going to Haiti

What to do for Somalia, Haiti, and others?  Money is hard to track, therefore what you may be donating may not be for what it is being used for  The UN is raising money to send manpower to Haiti; manpower is the most logical solution

Increasing Population  17 of the top 20 failing states are in the top 100 countries that have the highest rate of population growth in 2008  More People=More Resources  Somalia is 21, Haiti is 35  Population control in necessary

Lowest GDP  17 of the 20 Failing States are in the top 50 countries with the lowest GDP per capita

Think…  Which would solve the other:  Solving population problems would solve GDP problems  Solving GDP problems would solve population problems

Stop Population Growth, Lower GDP Per Capita  Education must be provided to these failing states to stop population growth  GDP per capita is based on population, with decreasing population, higher GDP  Man power is the answer to improve education

Leasing of Land "FROM SUPPLY TO FOOD SECURITY | UNEP/GRID-Arendal - Publications - The Environmental Food Crisis."

Our Failing States Leasing Land  4 of the top 5 Failing States have other countries using their farmland  Sudan  Chad  Zimbabwe  Democratic Republic of the Congo  Others on the List  Pakistan  1/5 of Failing States listed has their land being leased

Sustainability  Problems are evident in these countries  Overpopulation is a big issue  Lack of food is a problem  Governments are not stable enough to fix these problems

What Can be Done  Money is not working  Sending resources would be a better option:  People for education and to restructure government and economy  Food, water, building supplies  Reducing poverty would reduce problems in these countries  Decrease population  Give the people the land  Regulate the inter-country leasing of farmland

What Can We Do  Develop ways to send resources to the Failing States  Keep Informed  As a regular person, there is not much we can do. The governments of “successful” countries need to be motivated.

Works Cited "Al Jazeera English - Africa - Somalia Signs Deal with Militia." Al Jazeera English - AJE. Web. 23 Mar Brown, Lester Russell. Plan B 4.0: Mobilizing to save Civilization. New York: W. W. Norton, Print. "FROM SUPPLY TO FOOD SECURITY | UNEP/GRID-Arendal - Publications - The Environmental Food Crisis." UNEP/GRID-Arendal - Home. Web. 23 Mar "The Fund for Peace - Failed States Index FAQ." Welcome to the Fund for Peace. Web. 23 Mar "Haiti Earthquake Appeals Raise Millions - Mirror.co.uk." News Headlines, Celebs and Football - Mirror.co.uk. Web. 23 Mar "Hostage Captain Rescued; Navy Snipers Kill 3 Pirates - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. Web. 23 Mar "List of Poorest Countries in the World." World Rankings and Records. Web. 23 Mar "PE Html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" " Dont Give Money to Haiti | Analysis & Opinion | Reuters." Reuters.com. Web. 23 Mar "Population Growth Rate by Country. Definition, Graph and Map." NationMaster - World Statistics, Country Comparisons. Web. 23 Mar "Somalia Is Not a Failed State | Sharif Ahmed | Comment Is Free | The Guardian." Latest News, Comment and Reviews from the Guardian | Guardian.co.uk. Web. 23 Mar "Somalia Map AFRICA - Country Map of Somalia." Greece Map (Grecia) | Detailed Map of Greece. Web. 23 Mar