The Issue of National Stability

A recent interesting study titled "The Failed States Index 2007" was released by The Fund for Peace and Foreign Policy magazine. The study ranks 177 nations based on 12 political, economic, military, and social indicators of instability. The 12 factors are: Demographic Pressures, Refugees and Displaced Persons, Group Grievance, Human Flight, Uneven Development, Economy, Delegitimization of State, Public Services, Human Rights, Security Apparatus, Factionalized Elites, and External Intervention. Each indicator is ranked from a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being the most unstable. Hence, the more unstable a country, the higher the score it receives and the higher it is ranked. Here is the Map of Stability (or Instability):

Source: Foreign Policy

As suggested by the legend, countries in red are in critical condition, countries in orange are in danger, countries in yellow are borderline, countries in light green are stable, and countries in dark green are most stable. So, now come the questions many of you will be pondering: Which country is the least stable? Which is the most stable? Well take a few guesses before you read on. Ok, ready for the answers?

The top ten ranked countries (or least stable) in order from one to ten are Sudan, Iraq, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Chad, Ivory Coast, Dem. Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, Guinea, and Central African Republic. The ten countries at the bottom of the list (or most stable) in order from the absolute bottom are: Norway, Finland, Sweden, Ireland, Switzerland, New Zealand, Iceland, Denmark, Australia, and Canada. This means that Sudan is the most unstable country in the world and Norway is the most stable. The United States just makes the bottom 20 and is ranked at 160.

It can also be seen that most unstable countries lie in Africa and the most stable countries lie in Europe and rarely ever make the news. Sudan's conflict in terms of Darfur is amongst the most tragic situations in the world. A recent movie "Blood Diamond" showed some of the tragedies occurring in Sierra Leone. Although the movie is fictional, it does a good job of depicting the troubles shadowing the African continent. It also signals to me the failure of the United Nations and other nations to step up to the situation.

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." - Edmund Burke.

There are, of course, some improvements worth noting. Countries such as Liberia, Indonesia, Dem. Republic of Congo, and Bosnia have improved by 4 or greater index points. India has moved from a ranking of 93 to 110 in its 60th year of independence. The move likely results from a soaring economy to a deescalation of conflicts since the Kargil War. However, it is surrounded by some of the most unstable nations in the world; the include Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.

For those of you interested further in the study, the full list of rankings can be found here. Also, a detailed analysis and some FAQ on various matters, including methodology, are provided in the Foreign Policy.