The Failed States Index 2007: Leading the Way to the Bottom

Many states must endure poverty, corruption, and natural disasters. But, for the weak, there is nothing more costly than a strongman calling the shots.

By Brad Amburn

October 13, 2009, 8:04 PM

Omar Hassan al-Bashir, president of Sudan
Failed States Rank: 1
Years in Power: 18
Came to Power by Coup: Yes

Robert Mugabe, president of Zimbabwe
Failed States Rank: 4
Years in Power: 27
Came to Power by Coup: No

Idriss Deby, president of Chad
Failed States Rank: 5
Years in Power: 17
Came to Power by Coup: Yes

History is full of brutal leaders who have plunged their lands into poverty and war through greed, corruption, and violence. And though many events — natural disasters, economic shocks, an influx of refugees from a neighboring country — can lead to state failure, few are as decisive or as deadly as bad leadership.

This year’s index reveals that while failing states like Iraq and Somalia may suffer from poor governance, they are kept company by a number of countries ruled by long-serving strongmen who have presided over their nations’ collapse. Three of the five worst performing states — Chad, Sudan, and Zimbabwe — have leaders who have been in power for more than 15 years.

But the problem is not restricted to sub-Saharan Africa. Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov, who has continued a brutal crackdown on dissent since the massacre of hundreds of unarmed protesters in May 2005, has been in power since 1991. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who has clung to power for the past quarter century, is now orchestrating his own succession, with his son as the heir apparent. And Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has ruled since 1978, was overwhelmingly reelected to another seven-year term last September in an election roundly condemned by the opposition as fraudulent.

Likewise, effective leadership can pull a state back from the brink. Indonesia’s first directly elected president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has helped steer the country, long marred by endemic corruption and devastated by the 2004 tsunami, toward greater stability since coming into office three years ago. He has initiated reform of the country’s crooked security sector, negotiated a peace agreement with rebels in Aceh Province, and made moderate improvements in government services. These efforts haven’t necessarily made him popular. But then, such leadership is exactly what more failing states need: a head of state who chooses continued reforms over his own power and recognition.

Tag: Economics