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Countries, regions or societies where there is a total or
considerable breakdown of authority are characterised by the lack of
central government authority, conflict amongst different interest
groups, collapse of governance structures, establishment of new power
structures enforced through guns, mass suffering of the citizens,
sporadic or continuous armed conflicts.
In many cases the
central state has been traditionally weak vis-à-vis local forces,
leading to the growth of powerful regionally based groups. State
structures break down and are no longer functional. Essentially, the
are warlord structures that originated during military conflicts and
that have sustained themselves through a political economy of war based
on drug production, smuggling, plunder and foreign aid. Some have
appalling human rights records, including genocide, mass deportation to
mention just few excesses. Neighbouring states in the area often have
major and mostly conflicting stakes in the future of a country. The
distribution of power inside the country bears evidence of this war
time status.
The viability of a nation building process
depends ultimately on the establishment of a legitimate state that is
responsive to the demands of the population and that is gradually able
to resist threats from regional military groups within the country as
well as pressure from international actors.
To reduce the
militarisation of politics in the nation building process, and to break
a country’s regional economies of war, the international
community often needs to step in to support national institutions at
the national, and sub-national level (regional, provincial, district,
and community level). Both military and developmental interaction is
required. In many countries two distinct and partly competing
politico-administrative organisations exist.
One maybe some
form of a national administrative structure as provided for in the
Constitution. The other structure rests on military power rather than
constitutional legitimacy. Based on geographic regions, it evolves from
the rule of the warlords and the establishment of various military
commanders. The idea of a unitary state based upon modern state
institutions (including a national police, army, educational system,
etc.) have to be embodied in the constitution of a country. There is a
distinct gap between the theory of unitary structure and the practice
of decentralised power. This method describes some principles and
procedures required to promote and achieve nation building.
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