Dr. Pauline Baker considered that weak and failing states
rank among the world’s greatest threats to international
peace and security today. While major threats to world
peace used to come mainly from ideological, military,
or economic competition among competing states,
in modern times lethal threats are growing within
states from a variety of factors, such as tensions among
different groups within the state, extremists groups with
radical political agendas, faltering regimes asserting
militaristic ambitions, and venal elites depriving their
own people of basic freedoms and services.
Using Iraq as a case study, Dr. Baker addresses
several questions. What are weak and failing states?
How do we recognize them? What do they signify?
Can they be prevented? What do they signify for the
international community as a whole? Based on a series
of reports since 2003 that evaluate 12 social, economic
and political indicators of conflict risks in Iraq, Dr. Baker
discussed major trend lines, mapped out future options,
and weighed the pros and cons of a new direction calling
for the creation of a “Union of Iraqi States” in light of
other possible scenarios for the development of the
situation in Iraq.