State building : governance and world order in the 21st century

Weak or failed states are the source of many of the world's most serious and intractable problems, from poverty, AIDS and drugs, to terrorism. In tackling these issues, Francis Fukuyama identifies a new solution: state-building.

The building and strengthening of states is a massive task. From Afghanistan to Sudan, the Congo to Iraq, the process must be invented anew for every country. The formation of proper public institutions, such as an honest police force, uncorrupted courts, functioning schools and medical services and a strong civil service is fraught with difficulties. Helping with resources, people and technology across borders is the easy bit, but state-building requires methods that are not easily transported. Fukuyama traces what we know and more often don't know about how to transfer functioning public institutions in ways that will leave something of permanent benefit. He examines the consequences of weak states for the international order, and the grounds on which the international community may legitimately intervene to prop them up. These are important lessons, especially as the West wrestles with its responsibilities in Iraq, Afghanistan and beyond.

Francis Fukuyama, a leading political observer, has an uncanny knack of identifying the next critical issue and shaping the debate around it In this hugely important book he examines the concept of state-building and discusses the problems caused by state weakness and its national and international effects