BY J.J. MESSNER As much as the 2014 Fragile States Index is significant for being the tenth anniversary of the Index (and for being the first to be named “Fragile States Index” rather than “Failed States Index”), it is especially notable for the change at the top: after six years in the number one position, […]
Category Archives: Fragile States Index
A Decade of Recovery: Bosnia and the Balkans Bounce Back
- 24 June 2014
BY LAURA BRISARD Fragile States Index 2014 A decade of Fragile States Index (FSI) data gives the opportunity to focus on the parts of the world that are truly improving. Two countries nearly tied for most-improved country of the past decade: Bosnia & Herzegovina (BiH) and Indonesia. The Fund for Peace has previously covered the […]
Press Release: Fragile States Index 2014 Released
- 24 June 2014
Contact: J.J. Messner Office: +1 202 223 7940 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2014 Fragile States Index Released: South Sudan replaces Somalia as most fragile state; Finland remains at best position; Central African Republic, Syria, Libya, and Mozambique worsen; Iran, Cuba, Mexico, Serbia, and Zimbabwe make gains. WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Fund for Peace today released the tenth edition of […]
Statehood or Bust: The Case of South Sudan
- 24 June 2014
BY PATRICIA TAFT It took three years, a slide from growing dysfunction to rapid escalation in violence, and more than a fair share of international hand-wringing to arrive at this place: South Sudan is the world’s most fragile state. What occurred in the twelve months since the last Fragile States Index — when the world’s […]
Fragile States Index 2014: The Book
- 24 June 2014
BY J.J. MESSNER, NATE HAKEN, KRISTA HENDRY, PATRICIA TAFT, KENDALL LAWRENCE, LAURA BRISARD, FELIPE UMANA The Fragile States Index, produced by The Fund for Peace, is a critical tool in highlighting not only the normal pressures that all states experience, but also in identifying when those pressures are pushing a state towards the brink of […]
From Failed to Fragile: Renaming the Index
- 24 June 2014
BY KRISTA HENDRY Fragile States Index 2014 When the Failed States Index (FSI) was first published in 2005, the use of the term ‘”failed state” was designed to highlight and draw attention to the very real risk that people faced if their state failed to address the factors and conditions that we were measuring. While […]
It Takes a Generation: West African Success Stories
- 24 June 2014
BY NATE HAKEN Many truisms about peace-building incline towards pessimism. There is a “vicious cycle,” a “conflict trap,” “unintended consequences,” the problem of “political will,” and a slew of transnational “exogenous pressures” beyond the sphere of anyone’s control. Certainly, the Fragile States Index (FSI) is often perceived as a buffet of bad news stories and […]
The Year of Red-Line Diplomacy
- 24 June 2013
BY PATRICIA TAFT The top several tiers of the annual Failed States Index (FSI) are often occupied not only by weak and fractured states at risk for conflict, but also states that have, over the years, been the proverbial thorns in the side of the international community. Each year these chart toppers, often impervious by […]
Failed States Index 2013: The Book
- 24 June 2013
BY J.J. MESSNER, NATE HAKEN, KRISTA HENDRY, PATRICIA TAFT, KENDALL LAWRENCE, SEBASTIAN PAVLOU, FELIPE UMANA The Failed States Index, produced by The Fund for Peace, is a critical tool in highlighting not only the normal pressures that all states experience, but also in identifying when those pressures are pushing a state towards the brink of […]
Failed States Index 2013: The Troubled Ten
- 24 June 2013
BY J.J. MESSNER AND KENDALL LAWRENCE Though it is called the Failed States Index, that is not to say that every country on the FSI is a failed state — after all, Finland is ranked on the FSI. That is also not to say that any country on the FSI is necessarily failed — though […]