FUNCTION JUNCTION as in a FAILED STATE ! ... “Failed state” is the international wonks’ term for a nation that no longer functions as a legitimate country. That’s not to be confused with a “rogue state” like North Korea, which functions, albeit in the pursuit of psycho evil. A failed state can’t even succeed at purposeful harm. But in its impotence, a failed state allows malevolent forces to thrive. The collapse of any authentic government breeds a Hobbesian war of all against all. Think of the Democratic Republic of the Congo—which is neither democratic nor a republic. Or Somalia. The kinds of countries Anderson Cooper reports from.
The textbook (OK, Wikipedia) definition of a failed state contains several elements, not all of which apply to a political party—such as maintaining a monopoly on violence, which, thank God, is not part of the job description for House Republicans. But other tests in the Fund for Peace’s Failed State Index sound as if they were written with Boehner’s bunch in mind:
FUNCTION JUNCTION as in a FAILED STATE ! ...
ReplyDelete“Failed state” is the international wonks’ term for a nation that no longer functions as a legitimate country. That’s not to be confused with a “rogue state” like North Korea, which functions, albeit in the pursuit of psycho evil. A failed state can’t even succeed at purposeful harm. But in its impotence, a failed state allows malevolent forces to thrive. The collapse of any authentic government breeds a Hobbesian war of all against all. Think of the Democratic Republic of the Congo—which is neither democratic nor a republic. Or Somalia. The kinds of countries Anderson Cooper reports from.
The textbook (OK, Wikipedia) definition of a failed state contains several elements, not all of which apply to a political party—such as maintaining a monopoly on violence, which, thank God, is not part of the job description for House Republicans. But other tests in the Fund for Peace’s Failed State Index sound as if they were written with Boehner’s bunch in mind: