Showing papers by "Stephen D. Krasner published in 2005"
TL;DR: The United States and the rest of the world need to develop the tools to both prevent conflict and manage its aftermath when it does occur, and such efforts will entail not just peacekeeping measures, but also influencing the choices that troubled countries make about their economies, their political systems, the rule of law, and their internal security as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: IN TODAY'S increasingly interconnected world, weak and failed states pose an acute risk to U.S. and global security. Indeed, they present one of the most important foreign policy challenges of the contemporary era. States are most vulnerable to collapse in the time immediately before, during, and after conflict. When chaos prevails, terrorism, narcotics trade, weapons proliferation, and other forms of organized crime can flourish. Left in dire straits, subject to depredation, and denied access to basic services, people become susceptible to the exhortations of demagogues and hatemongers. It was in such circum stances that in 2001 one of the poorest countries in the world, Afghanistan, became the base for the deadliest attack ever on the U.S. homeland, graphically and tragically illustrating that the problems of other countries often do not affect them alone. The international community is not, however, adequately organized to deal with governance failures. The United States and the rest of the world need to develop the tools to both prevent conflict and manage its aftermath when it does occur. Such efforts will entail not just peacekeeping measures, but also influencing the choices that troubled countries make about their economies, their political systems, the rule of law, and their internal security. Weak countries are unable to take advantage of the global economy not just because of a lack of resources,
158 citations
TL;DR: Krasner as discussed by the authors argues that the most important determinants of democratic development have been underlying socioeconomic conditions and institutional changes initiated by strategically calculating political elites, and that a system of governance that allows citizens to express their views and, more importantly, hold government officials accountable for their actions is the most effective although not the only way to achieve and sustain such a polity.
Abstract: One of the major foreign policy challenges of the contemporary era, indeed perhaps the major challenge, is how to encourage the development of well-functioning polities that provide security, social services, and opportunities for economically remunerative work. Democracy, a system of governance that allows citizens to express their views and, more importantly, hold government officials accountable for their actions, is the most effective although not the only way to achieve and sustain such a polity. The most important determinants of democratic development have been underlying socioeconomic conditions and institutional changes initiated by strategically calculating political elites. In countries that suffer from some combination of internal strife, poverty, limited governmental capacity, or a dearth of liberal institutions even if elections take place, the prospects for developing full-fledged democracy based solely on domestic resources and actors are poor—and the perverse incentives generated by the contemporary international environment often make matters worse. The fixity of borders, the near-absence of violent state death since 1945, and the availability of revenues from raw-materials exports and foreign aid have reduced the incentives for political leaders in badly governed and postconflict countries to craft deals with their own citizens that could give rise to self-enforcing institutions of the sort that improve life generally for a society and all those living within it. The leaders of today’s powerful democratic states have a large stake in promoting better governance in failed, failing, and postconflict countries. The disease, criminality, humanitarian crises, and terrorist threats that such countries tend to breed will not remain within their borders Stephen D. Krasner is Graham H. Stuart Professor of International Relations and director of the Center on Democracy, Development, and the Rule of Law at Stanford University. His books include Sovereignty: Organized Hypocrisy (1999) and Problematic Sovereignty (2001).
101 citations