Failed States and the Application of National Power: A Case Study of Somalia
Abstract
The post-World War II collapse of colonization placed many nations on a slippery slope heading for a destiny as a failed state. This relatively new phenomenon is currently under scrutiny from academia and only now being explored by western democracies. As these former powers meander into the foray they will find failed state issues much more complex than only a decade ago. Abandoned somewhere after Yalta, left behind by the technology revolution and unable to comprehend global economics, these failed states are a portrait of human disaster. Somalia quietly embraced independence in 1960 but soon found itself in the center of a Cold War struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union. By 1990 both superpowers had meddled in Somali politics and inundated the country with their weapons of war. Somalia was thrust into the international spotlight in 1991 when CNN reported thousands of casualties from widespread famine and a brutal civil war. She fell from the spotlight just as quickly in 1994 following a failed U.S. raid and the subsequent collapse of the UN peacekeeping mission. Nearly every component of a failed state can be found in Somalia... civil war, crime, clan clashes, diminishing natural resources, drought, famine and overpopulation. Caught in the middle of these failed missions and left behind by the abrupt departure of western aid were millions of desolate Somali citizens. Somalia is once again on the brink of the international limelight. Whether the attention is brought by starving children through the focused lens of a television camera or by highly classified intelligence sources in search of global terrorists, the U.S. is again on the verge of applying the tenants of national power to assist this struggling nation.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 09, 2002
- Accession Number
- ADA404904
Entities
People
- David C. Osborne
Organizations
- United States Army War College