COLLAPSED STATE IN CONTEMPORARY INTERNATIONAL POLITICS

This article provides a detailed analysis of the phenomenon of the "collapsed state" in contemporary international politics. It defines the concept of state collapse, distinguishing it from "weak" or "failed" states, as a situation where the structures of the state itself, such as the government and the basic functions of law and order, have completely disintegrated. The study explores the internal causes of state collapse, including prolonged civil war, ethnic conflict, and the complete erosion of political legitimacy. The research also examines the profound consequences of state collapse, both for the human security of the population within the state and for the stability of the surrounding region, through refugee flows and the spread of violence. The paper uses key examples, such as Somalia, to illustrate the dynamics of state collapse. The analysis concludes by assessing the immense challenges that state collapse poses for the international community and the limited effectiveness of external interventions aimed at state reconstruction.

The end of the Cold War saw the emergence of a new and deeply troubling phenomenon in international politics: the "collapsed state." This paper offers a conceptual and empirical examination of this issue. The study begins by developing a clear definition of state collapse, identifying its core characteristic as the disappearance of a central, legitimate authority capable of exercising control over a territory and providing basic public goods. The core of the article is an analysis of the causal pathways that can lead to state collapse. It argues that collapse is not a sudden event but the end point of a long process of state decay, often triggered by a combination of factors, including predatory and exclusionary governance, deep-seated ethnic or clan-based divisions, and the pressures of economic crisis. The paper provides a detailed case study of Somalia, which is presented as the archetypal collapsed state of the era, to illustrate these dynamics in practice. The second part of the study focuses on the consequences of state collapse. It details the catastrophic humanitarian crises that typically ensue, as well as the profound implications for regional and international security, as collapsed states can become safe havens for warlords, criminal networks, and terrorist groups. The findings reveal the immense difficulty that the international community has faced in responding to this challenge, with interventions often failing to achieve the long-term goal of state reconstruction. The paper concludes that the problem of collapsed states is one of the most complex and intractable security challenges of the post-Cold War world.