FPTV: How Do You Defend a Failing State?

It’s not easy representing one of the world’s most vulnerable nations. Not only must you confront such problems as endemic poverty, entrenched corruption, and ethnic violence, but you have to defend your government from ferocious criticism in the media. To get the other side of the story, FPTV sat down with ambassadors from seven of the worst-performing countries on the 2007 Failed States Index.

Introduction: Katherine Wheeler, FPTV

Introduction: Katherine Wheeler, FPTV

Afghanistan: Amb. Said Tayib Jawad
2007 FSI Rank: 8

Chad: Amb. Mahamat Adam Bechir
2007 FSI Rank: 5

Ethiopia: Amb. Samuel Assefa
2007 FSI Rank: 18

Haiti: Amb. Raymond Joseph
2007 FSI Rank: 11

Pakistan: Amb. Mahmud Ali Durrani
2007 FSI Rank: 12

Somalia: Mr. Mohamed Abdirizak*
2007 FSI Rank: 3

Zimbabwe: Amb. Machivenyika Mapuranga
2007 FSI Rank: 4

*Note: Mr. Abdirizak is a representative of the president’s office of the Somali Transitional Federal Government.

Want to Know More?

The following links are a good place to start.

The Failed States Index 2007
The worlds weakest states arent just a danger to themselves. They can threaten the progress and stability of countries half a world away. In the third annual Failed States Index, FOREIGN POLICY and The Fund for Peace rank the countries where the risk of failure is running high.Letters: Rejecting Failure
Afghanistan, Botswana, and Zimbabwe respond to the 2007 Failed States Index. The Fund for Peace: Country Reports
Here you can find detailed information from the 2006 Index about six of the countries featured in this FPTV segment: Afghanistan, Chad, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Somalia, and Zimbabwe. Paul Collier argues that the worlds most vulnerable states suffer from unique problems that challenge conventional solutions in The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries Are Failing and What Can Be Done About It (New York: Oxford University Press, 2007). In How Globalization Went Bad (FOREIGN POLICY, January/February 2007), Steven Weber, Naazneen Barma, Matthew Kroenig, and Ely Ratner make the case that a unipolar world increases instability and strife. For a troubling account of how climate change might multiply risks to failing states, see National Security and the Threat of Climate Change (Alexandria: CNA Corporation, 2007), chaired by 11 retired U.S. military officers.

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