Headline Feb 25, 2016/ ''' WHY *NATIONS* FAIL '''

''' WHY *NATIONS* FAIL '''

LIKE ALMOST EVERY CITY IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD - Karachi, Pakistan, too, is under terrible siege and failing-

Into growing mounds of waste, stink and utter misery in existence. And the protesters are out and crying and screaming hoarse.

FOR SURE FAILING CAN HAPPEN AFTER ONE FATEFUL EVENT  -for example a civil war, natural disaster, or brutal takeover......Or-

Insinuate itself gradually,...............like a cancer that eats away at a country for decades. But when a nation is failing, you can see it in the tired and weary eyes of its people:

''That deathly, and deadly, faraway look.''

OVER A BILLION people live in countries in danger of collapse. Some leaders lose control over their territory and cling to their capitals while warlords rule the provinces.

Most governments are unable or unwilling to provide the most basic services. Most are hobbled and gobbled by corruption and environmental degradation.

Such unstable states are are dangers not just to themselves but also to the whole world. They incubate terrorism, criminal organizations, and political extremism.......because when your country is falling apart around you, any way out can seem like a good way out.

Geography can make a country more vulnerable to instability. Just finding itself in bad violent neighborhood puts a country at risk; the war in Iraq, for instance, sent a flood of refugees into neighboring Syria.

And now, the war in Syria, is flooding the refugees just about the world over. And there is no hope in sight............

Crowded nations with huge populations, like Bangladesh, Egypt, face very special challenges. But so do vast countries like Chad, whose very size defeats infrastructure. 

Landlocked nations with poor soil and little water struggle self-sufficiency. Yet countries rich in natural resources, such as the  Democratic Republic of the Congo, doesn't always come out ahead. In what is called the resource curse, abundant  oil or diamonds  can breed competition among the elites for control of those lucrative assets.

Historical and cultural tensions can dog nations as well. Never is this more evident than in Africa, home to the top five countries in the Failed States Index,  compiled annually by the Fund for Peace. 

''The colonial drawing of arbitrary borders across the ethnic and even topographic lines created artificial states.'' says Fund's president, Pauline H. Baker.

Such regimes often devout more energy to consolidating authority than to fostering national identities and robust government institutions.

One African country that has prevailed over its colonial legacy is Senegal. ''I's benefited from enlightened leadership,'' says Baker. Indeed the most important factor for ensuring a state's stability is good governance, says Davidson College political scientist Ken Menkhaus.

Establishing the rule of law, with institutions to support it,  ''allows for predictable investment climate and discourages the rise of armed insurgencies.''

Assistance from organizations like the World Bank and the United Nations has a mixed record of staving off failure. The most dramatic success stories are countries like India and South Africa reformed themselves from within.

As the United States recent experience in  ''nation building''  illustrates, promoting political stability with outside military intervention is far from easy.  Iraq and Afghanistan currently rank as the sixth and seventh most precarious states on the planet.

Then there is Somalia, a country whose geography, history, and clan dynamics give it the grim distinction of topping the index for many years in a row. Beyond Somalia, there's little agreement on what a huge score on the index really means for a country's future.

Colombia, for example, lacks control over parts of its territory. So, has Colombia failed? The bloody aftermath of Kenya's 2007 elections caused the country to go from 26th to 14th in a recent index. But does this backslide foretell failure for Kenya, with its vibrant entrepreneurial class?  

Scholars caution against judgement. University of Hawaii professor Tarcisius Kabutaulaka says it's easy to forget that many countries have had troubled histories.

''The United States was built out of chaos, out of civil war. And now we expect the rest of the world to adopt our institutions but do it without violence in a short period of time.''

In the end, the question whether a country is failing may best be answered by its people.

If there eyes say  *''we have been deserted,''*  the verdict is rendered.

With respectful dedication to all the Leaders of the free world, and the Students, Professors and Teachers of the world. See Ya all on !WOW!  -the World Students Society and the Ecosystem of 2011:

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Good Night and God Bless

SAM Daily Times - the Voice of the Voiceless