Failed States and Institutional Decay: Understanding Instability and Poverty in the Developing World

Front Cover
Bloomsbury Publishing USA, Jul 18, 2013 - Political Science - 256 pages
What do we mean by failed states and why is this concept important to study? The “failed states” literature is important because it aims to understand how state institutions (or lack thereof) impact conflict, crime, coups, terrorism and economic performance. In spite of this objective, the “failed state” literature has not focused enough on how institutions operate in the developing world. This book unpacks the state, by examining the administrative, security, judicial and political institutions separately. By doing so, the book offers a more comprehensive and clear picture of how the state functions or does not function in the developing world, merging the failed state and institutionalist literatures. Rather than merely describing states in crisis, this book explains how and why different types of institutions deteriorate. Moreover, the book illustrates the impact that institutional decay has on political instability and poverty using examples not only from Africa but from all around the world.
 

Contents

Introduction
PART ONE Definitions controversies and challenges
What is state failure?
What are state institutions?
Challenges to institutional development in the developing
Administrative institutions
Judicial institutions
Security institutions
Political institutions
Corruption
State building foreign aid and interventions
Conclusion
Copyright

Other editions - View all

Common terms and phrases

About the author (2013)

Natasha M. Ezrow is a Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) at the University of Essex, UK, where she serves as the Director of the International Development Studies Program. With Erica Frantz, she co-authored The Politics of Dictatorships (2011) and Dictators and Dictatorships (2011).

Erica Frantz
is an Assistant Professor at Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts. With Natasha Ezrow, she co-authored The Politics of Dictatorships (2011) and Dictators and Dictatorships (2011). Her work has been presented at the American Political Science Association and the Midwest Political Science Association Conferences.

Bibliographic information