Failing or failed?

04/23/07

Posted under Uncategorized

IN his column today, Amando Doronila asks if the country isn’t headed towards joining the global list of basket-case countries:

The Philippines came up recently under intensified international scrutiny questioning whether it was moving into the category of a failed state in the wake of the incapacity of the country’s avowedly democratic regime to halt the wave of extrajudicial killings since 2001.

Doronila makes elaborate use of Noam Chomsky’s own interpretation of the failed state idea. But the debate on whether or not the country is is a failed state is something I took note of in my blog back in August, 2005.

At the time, I pointed to an entry in Global Guerrillas which explains the concept, and I think it still makes relevant reading today (more extensive readings can be found in Global Policy Forum). Back in 2005, the Failed State Index for 2005 had just been launched. In it, the Philippines came out No. 56. In the Failed State Index for 2006, the Philippines came out No. 68, between Israel and Peru. Since the lower your number, the closer you are to being a failed state, the 2006 rankings reflect a substantial improvement for the country.

But Doronila’s point finds its basis in the explanation of Foreign Policy for the country rankings of 2005:

What are the clearest early warning signs of a failing state? Among the 12 indicators we use, two consistently rank near the top. Uneven development is high in almost all the states in the index, suggesting that inequality within states—and not merely poverty—increases instability. Criminalization or delegitimization of the state, which occurs when state institutions are regarded as corrupt, illegal, or ineffective, also figured prominently. Facing this condition, people often shift their allegiances to other leaders—opposition parties, warlords, ethnic nationalists, clergy, or rebel forces. Demographic factors, especially population pressures stemming from refugees, internally displaced populations, and environmental degradation, are also found in most at-risk countries, as are consistent human rights violations. Identifying the signs of state failure is easier than crafting solutions, but pinpointing where state collapse is likely is a necessary first step.

As last Saturday’s Inquirer editorial put it, after all, it’s “open season.” If Doronila is on to something, expect our country to inch back towards a lower score for the 2007 Failed State Index.

By mlq3
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purehuman

it always boil down to the implementation of our existing law. we cannot just continue to ADVOCATE good governance unless there is someone be accountable what they have done to our country. We cannot just continue to BROADCAST & ANNOUNCE to the people this & that kind of data & copied philosophy… there must be a clear LINE between GOOD governance & BAD governance, clear line to address all this problems in our society.

This ‘ANAY NG LIPUNAN’ used some tricky thing to avoid what our existing law said what is illegal… they have all the technical manipulation to FOOL the VERY CONSTITUTION that define what is wrong.

we need a full, agressive & liberal implementation of our existing law.. agressive enought to catch them & very liberal to break their tricks … let them be accountable for all the things they have done.

24.04.07 10:52 am

cvj

It would be interesting to get the inputs of those who promote more ‘market-orientation’ on the Failed State Index (and our score). I hope your colleague John Nery weighs in on this.

24.04.07 3:41 pm

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Inquirer Current. A current-events blog by Inquirer columnist Manuel L. Quezon III and Inquirer editor John Nery.