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‘Fragile States’: introducing a political concept

Author

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  • Sonja Grimm
  • Nicolas Lemay-Hébert
  • Olivier Nay

Abstract

The special issue ‘Fragile States: A Political Concept’ investigates the emergence, dissemination and reception of the notion of ‘state fragility’. It analyses the process of conceptualisation, examining how the ‘fragile states’ concept was framed by policy makers to describe reality in accordance with their priorities in the fields of development and security. The contributors to the issue investigate the instrumental use of the ‘state fragility’ label in the legitimisation of Western policy interventions in countries facing violence and profound poverty. They also emphasise the agency of actors ‘on the receiving end’, describing how the elites and governments in so-called ‘fragile states’ have incorporated and reinterpreted the concept to fit their own political agendas. A first set of articles examines the role played by the World Bank, the oecd, the European Union and the g7+ coalition of ‘fragile states’ in the transnational diffusion of the concept, which is understood as a critical element in the new discourse on international aid and security. A second set of papers employs three case studies (Sudan, Indonesia and Uganda) to explore the processes of appropriation, reinterpretation and the strategic use of the ‘fragile state’ concept.

Suggested Citation

  • Sonja Grimm & Nicolas Lemay-Hébert & Olivier Nay, 2014. "‘Fragile States’: introducing a political concept," Third World Quarterly, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(2), pages 197-209, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:taf:ctwqxx:v:35:y:2014:i:2:p:197-209
    DOI: 10.1080/01436597.2013.878127
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    Cited by:

    1. Tim Glawion & Lotje de Vries & Andreas Mehler, 2019. "Handle with Care! A Qualitative Comparison of the Fragile States Index's Bottom Three Countries: Central African Republic, Somalia and South Sudan," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 50(2), pages 277-300, March.
    2. Anuradha Joshi, 2023. "What makes “difficult” settings difficult? Contextual challenges for accountability," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 41(S1), March.
    3. Nelli Babayan, 2016. "A Global Trend EU-style: Democracy Promotion in ‘Fragile’ and Conflict-Affected South Caucasus," Global Policy, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 7(2), pages 217-226, May.
    4. Nicolas Lemay-Hébert & Syed Mansoob Murshed, 2016. "Rentier Statebuilding in a Post-Conflict Economy: The Case of Kosovo," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 47(3), pages 517-541, May.
    5. Guardia, Anne Della & Lake, Milli & Mira Saidi, 2024. "Safety Nets in Contexts of Violence, Fragility and Forced Displacement : The Case of Burkina Faso and Cameroon," Social Protection Discussion Papers and Notes 192987, The World Bank.
    6. Yijian Liu & Chaoqun Zhou & Lin Li & Liang Su & Yuanbiao Zhang, 2018. "Fragile States Metric System: An Assessment Model Considering Climate Change," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-29, May.
    7. Joshua K. Ault & Andrew Spicer, 2020. "State fragility as a multi-dimensional construct for international entrepreneurship research and practice," Asia Pacific Journal of Management, Springer, vol. 37(4), pages 981-1011, December.
    8. Remi Chukwudi Okeke & Adeline Nnenna Idike & Azalahu Francis Akwara & Cornelius O. Okorie & Okechukwu E. Ibiam, 2021. "Failure of States, Fragility of States, and the Prospects of Peace in South Sudan," SAGE Open, , vol. 11(2), pages 21582440211, May.

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