This research has the goal of understanding the creation of African failed states and to explore preventative measures for a continent that in the past has been plagued by factional warlords, ethnic violence and kleptocracy. If one can isolate the catalysts that initiate failed statehood then they can prevent or at least slow the process in hopes of a state regaining its footing in the sovereign world. Understanding failed statehood allows for suggestions on how to rebuild a nation that has fallen into disaccord. The research attempts to explain the prevailing elements in the emergence of failed statehood and to briefly suggest solutions to these problems faced specifically on the African continent. The common indicators of failed statehood listed by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in The Failed States Index and in the article The Failed State and International Law by Dr. Daniel Thurer will be examined against the multiple case study of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone and Somalia. By choosing to focus on countries in three distinct regions of Africa, Central, Western, and the Horn of Africa, the research has a broad base to draw from to show that the indicators of failed states are universal throughout the continent. The approach used to explain failed statehood in Africa will be the Personal Rule Paradigm in Africa's Stalled Development: International Causes and Cures by Leonard and Straus as a contributing factor of failed states due to the fact it is so prevalent throughout the linear history of Africa beginning with the influence of European colonialism.

Das politische Phänomen ‚fragiler Staaten’ betrifft die Grundfesten des Völkerrechts, und hat dennoch wenig Beachtung in der Rechtswissenschaft gefunden. Staaten, die formal rechtlich anerkannt sind, aber faktisch kaum in der Lage sind, grundlegende staatliche Funktionen auszuüben, beeinträchtigen Funktion und Effektivität der Völkerrechtsordnung. Die Völkerrechtsordnung hängt entscheidend von der Existenz einer effektiven Regierung ab, die zumindest in der Lage ist, Rechte und Pflichten auszuüben und an den internationalen Beziehungen teilzunehmen. In der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit beispielsweise ist die Existenz eines Staates mit rechtlich anerkannter und faktisch handlungsfähiger Regierung eine Grundvoraussetzung für den Transfer finanzieller Ressourcen. Diese Arbeit zeigt mit Blick auf Recht und Praxis der Entwicklungszusammenarbeit, dass ‚fragile Staaten’ zwar kein rechtliches Phänomen sind, aber der Umgang von Internationalen Organisationen mit den Herausforderungen fragiler Staatlichkeit durchaus von rechtlicher Relevanz ist. Sie untersucht die formellen und informellen Regeln, die Entwicklungsorganisationen wie die Weltbank für den Umgang mit Staaten mit kaum handlungsfähiger Regierung erlassen haben. Das Resultat ist eine kritische Analyse des sozial konstruierten Phänomens und seiner folgenreichen Übersetzung in rechtliche Regularien. / The political phenomenon of ‘fragile states’ concerns international law’s very foundations, and has yet received little attention from legal scholarship. States that have the legal status of states, but are in fact unable to fulfill even the most basic functions, pose a fundamental problem to the functioning and effectiveness of the international legal order. It crucially depends on the existence of governments with the minimum level of capacity necessary to exercise rights and obligations, and to partake in international cooperation. In development cooperation, for instance, the existence of a state with an authorized and competent government is a basic condition for the transfer of financial assistance. This study looks at the law and practice of development cooperation to show that ‘fragile states’ are a phenomenon beyond law, but how international organizations have addressed the challenges of engaging with fragile states may well be of legal significance. It analyzes the formal and informal rules that development organizations – the World Bank, and a range of regional organizations – have adopted to address the lack or severe limitation of government effectiveness in certain countries. The result is a critical analysis of the discourse on fragile states, and how it has shaped the rule-making activities of international organizations.

Depuis la fin de la guerre froide, la notion de Failed State est utilisée dans les relations internationales pour décrire des États rencontrant des difficultés à exercer un monopole de la violence légitime sur leur territoire. La thèse se pose la question de savoir dans quelle mesure cette notion a pu jouer un rôle dans les rapports de domination en cours dans les relations internationales. L’étude montre que la notion a été créée par un communauté épistémique et des entrepreneurs de sens avant tout américains et proposait en effet un système de représentation selon lequel le salut des Failed State reposerait avant tout sur la mise en place de politiques très intrusives de la part des États les plus puissants de la planète. L’étude poursuit en montrant que ce système de représentation, créé à grands frais par un ensemble d’acteurs académiques, médiatiques et philanthropiques, n’a toutefois pas toujours réussi à justifier la mise en place des politiques intrusives souhaitées. A travers de nombreuses études de cas (Afghanistan, Haïti, Irak, Somalie, Palestine, Liban, Libéria, Soudan, Zimbabwe, Bolivie, Pakistan, Colombie, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Guinée-Bissau et République centrafricaine), le travail démontre que la notion de Failed State n’a pas toujours eu l’efficacité souhaitée et a au contraire été détournée, parfois avec succès, pour résister aux politiques perçues comme intrusives par des acteurs prétendument dominés. L’étude conclut que si il est théoriquement possible de dominer par les idées, il est aussi possible de résister aux idées par les idées. // Since the end of the Cold War, the notion of Failed State is used in international relations in order to describe States that have difficulties to exercise a monopoly of legitimate violence on their territory. The thesis raises the question of how this concept influenced the relations of domination in the international relations. The study shows that the concept of Failed State was created by an epistemic community and a group of entrepreneurs primarily based in the United States. The notion promoted a system of representation based on the idea that the salvation of the Failed States rested on their acceptance of very intrusive policies leaded by the most powerful States of the world. The study also shows that this representation system, created at great expense, has not always been able to justify the intrusive policies it was designed to legitimize. Through numerous case studies (Afghanistan, Haiti, Iraq, Somalia, Palestine, Lebanon, Liberia, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Bolivia, Pakistan, Colombia, Burundi, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau and Central African Republic), it is shown that notion of Failed State has not always reached the efficiency desired by its creators and has instead been used, sometimes successfully, to resist policies perceived as intrusive by the allegedly “dominated” actors. The study concludes that while it is theoretically possible to rule with ideas, it is also possible to resist ideas with ideas.

THE MEXICAN HYDRA: HOW CALDERÓN’S PURSUIT OF PEACE LED TO THE BLOODIEST WAR IN MEXICAN HISTORY. WILL THE MEXICAN PEOPLE INHERIT A FAILED STATE IN 2012? Abstract Marco Antonio Pinon-Farah The drug-war in Mexico (2006-present) has accelerated at a chilling rate, claiming the lives of 35,000 Mexican people. Since President Felipe Calderón assumed office, Mexico has been battling an internal beast unlike any it has known, the Mexican Hydra. Like the mythical creature, the Mexican cartels have proven capable of not only combating the government forces, but also of regenerating and strengthening themselves in the face of increasing government scrutiny and the loss of several prominent Mexican cartel leaders. Feuding between individual cartels and the Mexican government continue to maintain a significant portion of the country, particularly the states of Chihuahua and Sinaloa, in a paralytic state of fear. Struggling to maintain the safety of all people in Mexico, the military must also contend with the reality that it is often outgunned by the increasingly powerful drug-trafficking organizations (DTOs). Given the historical accusations of corruption in Mexican judicial, military, and police authorities, this branch of the government is constantly fighting for the trust and support of the Mexican people in order to fulfill its duties and obligations. The moral guide of Mexican society since Spanish conquest, the Catholic Church, has been notably missing from the debate until recent years in which it has chosen to speak up more frequently on behalf of those who have suffered human rights violations. In recent months, the Church and the State have been working towards a partnership to publicly condemn the violence and fear that has become all too common in Mexico. This state of chaos has been further examined by the musical phenomenon, “el narcocorrido,” (drug song). Derived from the “corrido,” one of Mexico’s most valued methods of cultural expression and storytelling, this new take on the genre provides a controversial view and analysis of the Mexican drug-trafficker. Much like the American gangsta-rap genre, the narcocorrido glamorizes the lives of individuals who are considered criminals by society. With police being criticized and the government accused of corruption and abuse, the narcocorrido is a manifestation of the sentiments of many Mexican people past and present. This cultural force allows for a greater understanding of the complexity of the drug-war in Mexico, in that it is not simply a struggle between the people and the drug industry, but rather it exposes the nature of the war for what it truly is, a battle between one Mexican presidential administration and the drug trafficking industry. President Calderón’s strategy has been successful in eliminating various important Mexican DTO leaders, however it also has been responsible for a rise in violence between the cartels and government. His strategy has left thousands dead and set a precedent for future Mexican presidents in that they are now all committed to this war, for a withdrawal from the conflict would be catastrophic for the Mexican state. Calderón is already struggling to maintain his government’s legitimacy, and it is becoming increasingly true that his state verges on failure due to its inability to guarantee and protect the rights afforded to its citizens by the Mexican Constitution.

The aim of the work Failed States in International Relations is the examination of this phenomenon regarding the terminological discrepancy, causes of the state fragility, security and social aspects and the various attitudes from the side of the international communities. A special part is dealing with so called "successfully failed states" where despite the obvious non-functioning the state is able to survive due to the revenues from the natural resources. The ?ndings are represented on the case study of the Democratic Republic of the Congo - a country with huge potential but miserable performance by now.

Lebanon is seen as a failed state by the international community and this study aims to look at the causes that have made Lebanon dysfunctional. The study uses Andrej Lijpharts consociational power sharing model and the international relations theory realism to analyse the internal and external causes that have made Lebanon a failed state. The study is based on interviews from the three major sects in Lebanon and a text analysis. The study shows that Lebanon is suffering from a corrupt elite that uses the state institutions to benefit their own families. The elite uses clientelism by manipulating consociational power sharing to make the ethnoreligious groups dependant on the elite’s own success. Different regional and international powers use Lebanon in their struggle for power and dominance over the Middle East. The external actors support different ethnic and religious groups by financing and arming them. That in turn deepens the divide between the sectarian groups and hinders the political progress.

Politics in an organisation is an inevitable element in organisation management. The Southern African Development Community (SADC)’s national electricity providers have been subject to an increasingly intense organisational politics cancer for almost two decades, and it is commonly believed to be behind the current electricity generation crisis that has become synonymous within the SADC region. The electricity challenges have spread to most countries in Africa, making the challenge applicable to Africa as a continent. Even on a global scale, electricity crises are increasingly becoming a matter of concern. Economies the world over are known to be heavily reliant on electricity as an energy source. Most if not all economies would be dysfunctional and non-existent without adequate electricity. This study focuses on organisational politics and its impact on managerial practices at a national electricity provider in a SADC region, in particular, Zimbabwe’s national electricity provider and specifically aims to provide a conceptual framework for better cognition and minimisation of negative political behaviour, ultimately enhancing electricity generation capacity for the country. The study is presented in article format covering four areas of study as follows: * Article one identifies the main role-players and their functions in the generation of electrical power at the national electricity providers. The identification of the role-players is literature based and discusses the influences of the role-players in the equation of electricity generation for the economy. A biographical profile of the national electricity provider is compiled by means of an empirical study. * The second article explores and interrogates employees’ perceptions of organisational politics by employing both theoretical and empirical study focusing on the causes/sources of political behaviour at the national electricity provider. * The third article investigates the effects of organisational politics at the national electricity provider focusing on the positive and negative effects. The article also employs both a literature and an empirical study. * The final article provides solutions to the negative effects of organisational politics. It investigates the managerial practices for minimising negative political behaviour through a review of literature as well as undertaking an empirical study. A sample of 1400 participants was randomly selected from the population of 2210 employees, representing 63.35% of the population. A total of 358 completed questionnaires were returned by the cut-off date. Of the 358, 11 were discarded as they were incorrectly completed, giving an effective response rate of 24.78%. The study employed the statistical software programme SPSS 21.0 for Windows to analyse the data. Various quantitative statistical techniques that suit the doctoral level of research were used to analyse the data. The techniques include: * Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy; * Exploratory factor analysis * Bartlett’s test of sphericity; and * Cronbach Alpha’s reliability coefficient. The major findings of the study were: * The first article identified the main role-players within the national electricity provider’s political environment as: employees, managers; government; and board of directors. Central to the political environment, are diverse goals from each role-player which in most cases is incongruent, giving birth to the political tempo (organisational politics) within the organisation. * The second article identified four significant factors perceived as contributing to political behaviour at the national electricity provider. The factors are managerial behaviour, poor communication of objectives, unexpected employee behaviour and unhealthy managerial practices. These factors account for a favourable variance of 74.26. * The third article identified three factors of significance that explain the effects of political behaviour at the national electricity provider. These factors account for a favourable variance of 74.67%, and the factors include positive departmental actions, negative employee actions and personal consequences. * The final article sought to provide measures for minimising negative effects of political behaviour, thus the article identified two factors of importance in minimising negative political behaviour at the national electricity provider. These factors are managerial fairness and managerial participation accounting for 70.11% of the total variance. Organisational politics, by and large, impedes organisational performance and in the case of the national electricity provider, it retards the power utility’s capacity to generate the much needed electrical power. Thus an integrated organisational strategy is required to successfully harness negative political behaviour into some significant positive factors that can create a conducive work environment that enhances performance ultimately increasing productivity levels. While the findings of the study holds true of the fact that some political behaviour factors have a hand in the national electricity provider’s inability to generate adequate electrical power, further research is needed to substantiate these factors in other regions of the national electricity provider within Zimbabwe as well as in SADC countries. A SADC approach encompassing all the member countries can help reduce negative political behaviour in key organisations such as the national electricity providers and other parastatals. The study concludes by proposing a comprehensive conceptual organisational politics management model (OPMM) which can be used by managers at the national electricity providers to reduce negative political behaviour. / PhD (Business Administration), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Politics in an organisation is an inevitable element in organisation management. The Southern African Development Community (SADC)’s national electricity providers have been subject to an increasingly intense organisational politics cancer for almost two decades, and it is commonly believed to be behind the current electricity generation crisis that has become synonymous within the SADC region. The electricity challenges have spread to most countries in Africa, making the challenge applicable to Africa as a continent. Even on a global scale, electricity crises are increasingly becoming a matter of concern. Economies the world over are known to be heavily reliant on electricity as an energy source. Most if not all economies would be dysfunctional and non-existent without adequate electricity. This study focuses on organisational politics and its impact on managerial practices at a national electricity provider in a SADC region, in particular, Zimbabwe’s national electricity provider and specifically aims to provide a conceptual framework for better cognition and minimisation of negative political behaviour, ultimately enhancing electricity generation capacity for the country. The study is presented in article format covering four areas of study as follows: * Article one identifies the main role-players and their functions in the generation of electrical power at the national electricity providers. The identification of the role-players is literature based and discusses the influences of the role-players in the equation of electricity generation for the economy. A biographical profile of the national electricity provider is compiled by means of an empirical study. * The second article explores and interrogates employees’ perceptions of organisational politics by employing both theoretical and empirical study focusing on the causes/sources of political behaviour at the national electricity provider. * The third article investigates the effects of organisational politics at the national electricity provider focusing on the positive and negative effects. The article also employs both a literature and an empirical study. * The final article provides solutions to the negative effects of organisational politics. It investigates the managerial practices for minimising negative political behaviour through a review of literature as well as undertaking an empirical study. A sample of 1400 participants was randomly selected from the population of 2210 employees, representing 63.35% of the population. A total of 358 completed questionnaires were returned by the cut-off date. Of the 358, 11 were discarded as they were incorrectly completed, giving an effective response rate of 24.78%. The study employed the statistical software programme SPSS 21.0 for Windows to analyse the data. Various quantitative statistical techniques that suit the doctoral level of research were used to analyse the data. The techniques include: * Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) measure of sampling adequacy; * Exploratory factor analysis * Bartlett’s test of sphericity; and * Cronbach Alpha’s reliability coefficient. The major findings of the study were: * The first article identified the main role-players within the national electricity provider’s political environment as: employees, managers; government; and board of directors. Central to the political environment, are diverse goals from each role-player which in most cases is incongruent, giving birth to the political tempo (organisational politics) within the organisation. * The second article identified four significant factors perceived as contributing to political behaviour at the national electricity provider. The factors are managerial behaviour, poor communication of objectives, unexpected employee behaviour and unhealthy managerial practices. These factors account for a favourable variance of 74.26. * The third article identified three factors of significance that explain the effects of political behaviour at the national electricity provider. These factors account for a favourable variance of 74.67%, and the factors include positive departmental actions, negative employee actions and personal consequences. * The final article sought to provide measures for minimising negative effects of political behaviour, thus the article identified two factors of importance in minimising negative political behaviour at the national electricity provider. These factors are managerial fairness and managerial participation accounting for 70.11% of the total variance. Organisational politics, by and large, impedes organisational performance and in the case of the national electricity provider, it retards the power utility’s capacity to generate the much needed electrical power. Thus an integrated organisational strategy is required to successfully harness negative political behaviour into some significant positive factors that can create a conducive work environment that enhances performance ultimately increasing productivity levels. While the findings of the study holds true of the fact that some political behaviour factors have a hand in the national electricity provider’s inability to generate adequate electrical power, further research is needed to substantiate these factors in other regions of the national electricity provider within Zimbabwe as well as in SADC countries. A SADC approach encompassing all the member countries can help reduce negative political behaviour in key organisations such as the national electricity providers and other parastatals. The study concludes by proposing a comprehensive conceptual organisational politics management model (OPMM) which can be used by managers at the national electricity providers to reduce negative political behaviour. / PhD (Business Administration), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Thesis (MA (Political Science. International Studies))--Stellenbosch University, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: In the context of the present conflict in Darfur, and in the years preceding it, the distinction between so-called African and Arab tribes has come to the forefront, and the tribal identity of individuals has increased in significance. These distinctions were never as clear cut and definite as they are today. The ‘Arab’ and ‘African’ distinction that was always more of a passive characteristic in the past has now become the reason for standing on different sides of the political divide. What then are the main factors which contributed to this new violent distinction between Arab and African? How is it possible for people and communities who have a positive history of cooperation and tolerance to suddenly plunge into a situation of such cruelty and hate towards one another. The thesis uses the New War framework to look at the current situation in Darfur. The most definitive version of this new framework is presented by scholars such as Mary Kaldor (2006), Martin van Creveld (1991) and Helfried Münkler (2005). The thesis then shows how the war in Darfur, exactly in line with the new war argument, has political goals with the political mobilization occurring on the basis of identity. Kaldor (2006) argues that the political goals in the new wars are about the claim to power based on seemingly traditional identities, such as Arab or African. Defining identity politics as “movements which mobilize around ethnic, racial or religious identity for the purpose of claiming state power” (Kaldor, 2006: 80), it becomes apparent that Darfur has become subject to this these kind of new war politics. The study therefore questions the popular argument that ethnic conflict arises out of an “ancient hatred” or “tribal warfare”. Chapters three and four illustrates how this new distinction between Arab and African should rather be seen as the cumulative effects of marginalization, competing economic interests and, more recently, from the political polarization which has engulfed the region. Most of the factors leading to the current Arab/African antagonism were traced to contemporary phenomena. The study also looks at factors such as loss of physical coercion on behalf of the state, loss of popular legitimacy and effective leadership, underdevelopment, poverty, inequality, and privatization of force. The study then concludes that politics of identity should more often be seen as a result of individuals, groups or politician reacting to the effects of these conditions then as the result of ethnic hatred. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: In die konteks van die huidige konflik in Darfur, en die jare wat dit voorafgaan, het die verskille tussen sogenaamde ‘Afrikaan’ en ‘Arabier’ stamme na vore gekom. So ook het die stamverband van individue kenmerkend toegeneem. Hierdie onderskeid was nooit so noukeurig afgebaken en bepalend soos wat dit vandag is nie. Die ‘Afrikaan’ en ‘Arabier’ onderskeid wat in die verlede meer van ’n passiewe kenmerk was, het ontaard in die rede waarom beide kante hulself vandag in ’n politieke skeiding bevind. Wat dan is die hoof faktore wat bydra tot hierdie nuwe gewelddadige onderskeid tussen ‘Afrikane’ en ‘Arabiere’? Hoe is dit moontlik vir mense en gemeenskappe met ’n positiewe geskiedenis van samewerking en verdraagsaamheid om skielik ’n toestand van soveel onmenslikheid en haat teenoor mekaar te ervaar? Die tesis maak gebruik van die Nuwe oorlog denkrigting in ’n poging om die huidige oorlog in Darfur te beskryf. Die mees bepalende weergawe van hierdie denkrigting word voorsien deur akademici soos Mary Kaldor (2006), Martin Creveld (1991) en Helfried Münkler (2005). Die tesis fokus op hoe die oorlog in Darfur (in lyn met die Nuwe Oorlog denkrigting) politieke doelwitte aan die dag lê, met die gepaardgaande politieke mobilisering wat geskied op grond van identiteit. Kaldor (2006) argumenteer dat die politieke doelwitte in die nuwe oorloë berus op die aanspraak tot mag op grond van skynbare tradisionele identiteite of stamwese, soos ‘Afrikaan’ en ‘Arabier’. As ’n mens identiteitspolitiek definieër as ’n beweging wat mobiliseer rondom etnisiteit, ras of geloof, met die doel om aanspraak te maak op staatsmag, dan blyk dit of die konflik in Darfur wel onderhewig is aan hierdie nuwe vorm van Nuwe Oorlog politiek. Die studie bevraagteken dus ook die gewilde aanname dat etniese oorloë ontstaan uit ‘stamoorloë’ of ‘antieke vyandskap’. Hoofstuk drie en vier verduidelik hoekom hierdie nuwe onderskeiding tussen ‘Afrikaan’ en ‘Arabier’ eerder beskou moet word as die kumulatiewe effek van marginalisasie, kompeterende ekonomiese belange en die politieke polarisasie wat die streek in twee skeur. Meeste van die faktore wat gelei het tot die etniese polarisasie van die streek word hier beskou as kontemporêre verskynsels. Die studie kyk ook na faktore soos: die verlies van populêre legitimiteit en effektiewe leierskap, onderontwikkeling, armoede, ongelykheid en die privatisering van mag. Die studie sluit af met die gedagte dat identiteitspolitiek in Darfur beskou moet word as die uitkoms van individue, groepe of politieke leiers wat reageer op die bogenoemde omstandighede, eerder as die resultaat van ‘antieke vyandskap’ of aggresiewe ‘stamoorloë’.

[pt] A proposta dessa dissertação é analisar a existência ou não de um discurso alternativo por parte do governo brasileiro frente ao discurso tradicional sobre Estados falidos. Para realizar esse trabalho partimos de uma análise do discurso tradicionalmente usado, para entender como ele é constituído, quais as palavras chaves que o formam e as implicações que ele traz inerente ao seu conteúdo. Na tentativa de observar a existência ou não de um discurso alternativo por parte do Estado brasileiro, analisaremos a posição brasileira perante dois casos com os quais o Brasil teve amplo envolvimento: Haiti e Guiné Bissau. A partir de tais casos buscaremos entender como esse discurso alternativo é constituído, como e onde ele se diferencia do discurso tradicional. Por fim tentaremos observar quais as consequências esse discurso alternativo pode prover aos ditos Estados falidos. / [en] The purpose of this dissertation is to analyze the existence or not of an alternative discourse by the Brazilian government against the traditional discourse on failed States. To accomplish this work we start from an analysis of the traditionally used discourse to understand how it is made, what are the key words that form it and the implications it brings inherent to its content. In an attempt to observe the existence or nor of an alternative discourse by the Brazilian State, we will analyze the Brazilian position relative to two cases which Brazil had an extensive involvement: Haiti and Guinea Bissau. Starting from these two cases we will try to understand how this alternative discourse is constituted, how and where it differs from the traditional discourse. Finally we will try to observe what consequences this alternative discourse can provide to the so called failed States.