Conclusion

This book has investigated the nature of state fragility, policies used to mitigate it and lessons learned. It defines state fragility as a situation where the state suffers from deficiencies in capacity, legitimacy or authority, which can also be associated with a weak economy and low resilience to shocks. While the book uses a multidimensional approach, the analysis gives precedence to vital questions of diversity and context to delve deeper into unpacking state fragility in each context. The book has used the cases of Afghanistan, Lebanon, Burundi, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Papua New Guinea and Rwanda, each facing different local circumstances, each having a significant impact on its neighbouring region’s security or broader questions of global security. These countries have all experienced some form of conflict in recent times; they all suffer from deficiencies in one or more critical areas—state legitimacy, capacity or authority—or have weak economies and remain vulnerable to internal and external shocks. This situation can be referred to as fragility syndrome. During the writing of this book, the regime in Afghanistan collapsed in August 2021. The case studies in this book each identified unique factors that have played a part in their specific context. While the country case studies in this book show considerable variation in political, social and economic development, several consistent themes arise from them. They all recognise the importance of history, society, institutions, politics, the economy—and the interconnectedness between them—and the tensions that can arise amongst them during the statebuilding process. Thirteen common themes stand out across the case studies, discussed in the following section under lessons learned