http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/failed-states Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Mon, 11 May 2026 07:36:44 -0400 Mon, 11 May 2026 07:36:44 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1742/a-state-of-illegitimacy-the-dynamics-of-criminal-and-state-legitimacy-in-mexico By Benjamin J. Mackey - The following paper seeks to elucidate the complex processes involved in the Mexican State’s loss of authority and the subsequent acquisition of this authority by armed criminal groups operating in that country. In theoretical terms, this authority is termed the monopoly on the legitimate use of violence, and its transfer from the State to criminal groups carries profound implications - both quantifiable and otherwise - that are explored here. In order to detail the first half of this process, wherein the Mexican State has lost its authority, this paper presents a framework based on the... Mon, 08 Oct 2018 08:15 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1742/a-state-of-illegitimacy-the-dynamics-of-criminal-and-state-legitimacy-in-mexico http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1712/food-insecurity-and-the-threat-to-global-stability-and-security-in-the-21st-century By Michael DeFeo - In 2010, over 250,000 Syrian farmers were forced from their land due to water shortages. Lack of water left these farmers dangerously food insecure, so they moved, en masse, into Syrian urban centers. This strained an already overburdened infrastructure which increased tensions between urban dwellers and the displaced farmers (El Hassan, 2014). One year later, the Syrian Civil War began, which has killed over 500,000 Syrians and has destabilized the entire country. Since then, the Islamic State has conquered swaths of land through terror campaigns, rebel and Syrian military clashes have left thousands... Thu, 07 Dec 2017 09:25 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1712/food-insecurity-and-the-threat-to-global-stability-and-security-in-the-21st-century http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1418/state-failure-in-the-south-pacific-and-southeast-asia-the-importance-of-australias-response-for-national-and-regional-stability By David A. Smith - The occurrence of state failure is an important concern for Australia as it pertains to the security and stability of the broader region (Ezrow & Frantz 2013, pp. 16-17). Rotberg (2003, p. 1) defines state failure as the result of internal violence and corruption that leads to a situation where “positive goods can no longer be delivered to the inhabitants,” leading to a loss of legitimacy. Responding to so called failed states and states that are heading towards failure is essential in maintaining regional security. For Australia, areas of concern include the South Pacific Islands... Thu, 02 Jun 2016 09:38 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1418/state-failure-in-the-south-pacific-and-southeast-asia-the-importance-of-australias-response-for-national-and-regional-stability http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1414/angola-1990-2000-oil-democracy-and-a-successful-failed-state By Eric Wilcox - Four decades after independence from Portugal, Angola remains a country with significant barriers to good governance and social development. Although the state's constitution established a multiparty democracy in the early 1990s, measures of high poverty and low state provision of public goods, in addition to high levels of corruption from the Angolan executive government headed by President José Eduardo dos Santos, do not equate with the proclaimed status of a democracy. Through an analysis of Angola's attempts at and challenges in democratization, particularly in the decade of the constitutional... Mon, 23 May 2016 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1414/angola-1990-2000-oil-democracy-and-a-successful-failed-state http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/880/state-building-in-somalia-in-the-image-of-somaliland-a-bottom-up-approach By Kenneth C. Upsall - The creation of western-style government institutions has been unsuccessful in Somalia. This is a direct result of colonial administrations not laying the proper foundation for western government institutions to achieve legitimacy in a culture of clan and kinship based identity. In post conflict Somalia the top down approach to state building has been ineffective and a lack of government structure at the time of independence created an environment in which clan based fracturing of the government was inevitable. The existing clan and kinship examples of local governance replaced the central government... Sun, 30 Mar 2014 01:29 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/880/state-building-in-somalia-in-the-image-of-somaliland-a-bottom-up-approach