BY CHARLES FIERTZ In a sharp reversal from nearly a decade of almost continuous improvement, Nicaragua has taken a sharp turn to rank as the third most-worsened country on the 2019 Fragile States Index (FSI). The eruption of mass protests (quelled only after months of violent crackdowns) has shaken the image of Nicaragua as an […]
Category Archives: Charles Fiertz
PIND Impact Assessment
- 15 July 2018
BY THE FUND FOR PEACE AND FOUNDATION FOR PARTNERSHIPS INITIATIVES IN THE NIGER DELTA (PIND) FFP has produced the following impact assessment of PIND’s peacebuilding programs in the Niger Delta. The assessment analyzes PIND’s approach to early warning, conflict management and social infrastructure development against the organization’s theory of change to evaluate impact. Download the […]
Taken to the Cleaners: As Brazil Faces Significant Challenges, Hope May be in Sight
- 07 May 2018
BY CHARLES FIERTZ Brazil continued the four-year slide that began in 2014, the year that saw the beginning of Operação Lava Jato (“Operation Car Wash”) as well as the global crash of commodity prices that had driven the Brazilian boom in growth that had helped lift tens of millions out of poverty. In contrast, the […]
Fragile States Index 2018 – Annual Report
- 24 April 2018
BY J.J. MESSNER, NATE HAKEN, PATRICIA TAFT, IGNATIUS ONYEKWERE, HANNAH BLYTH, CHARLES FIERTZ, CHRISTINA MURPHY, AMANDA QUINN, MCKENZIE HORWITZ 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 […]
A Nation Divided Against Itself: Internal Divisions Fuel U.S. Worsening
- 23 April 2018
BY J.J. MESSNER AND CHARLES FIERTZ More than any previous year, the 2018 Fragile States Index (FSI) has demonstrated that rich and developed countries can be just as prone as any other to the effects of fragility and instability – and the United States is certainly no exception. A combination of political and social turmoil, […]
The Authoritarian’s Playbook: Central Europe’s Slide Toward Illiberalism
- 23 April 2018
BY CHARLES FIERTZ At the beginning of the 21st century, Hungary and Poland were frequently lauded as two of the most successful examples of democratic transitions, emerging from the shadow of communist dictatorships and joining the Euro-Atlantic community through membership in organizations such as NATO and the European Union.[1] Today the two countries are again […]