2010/04/20 by Charles T. Call · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Peacebuilding and International Security #Political Conflict and Governance #International Development and Aid #Legitimacy #Politics #State (computer science) #Political science #Political economy #Positive economics #International relations #Sociology #Conceptual framework #Development economics #Law and economics #Economics #Social science #Law
paper · doi:10.1177/1354066109353137
openalex publication_date 2010/04/20 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
The article advances conceptual alternatives to the ‘failed state.’ It provides reasons why the concept is deficient, showing especially how counterproductive it is to aggregate states as diverse as Colombia, Malawi, Somalia, Iraq, Haiti, and Tajikistan. I argue for distinguishing among capacity gaps, security gaps, and legitimacy gaps that states experience. Importantly, I show that these gaps often do not coincide in a given country, and that the logical responses to each of the three gaps diverge in significant ways. I offer brief case examples of the logic of response to the gaps and of the tensions that must be managed among them. The article advances the debate over an important and under-theorized emergent concept in global politics.