Explore More
CloseFailed States, Collapsed States, and Weak States: Causes and Indicators
Nation-states fail because they are convulsed by internal violence and can no longer deliver positive political goods to their inhabitants. Their governments lose legitimacy, and the very nature of the particular nation-state itself becomes illegitimate in the eyes and in the hearts of a growing plurality of its citizens...
About the Author
![Robert I. Rotberg](/sites/default/files/styles/square/public/media/images/person/robert_rotberg_for_web.jpg)
Robert I. Rotberg
Former Fellow;
Founding Director of the Intrastate Conflict Program, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
Read MoreFounding Director of the Intrastate Conflict Program, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University