The notion of a failed state is an ambiguous one. After all, there are a number of approaches that can be taken to determine whether a state is a failed state. In most cases, the use of the term does not refer to a state that no longer exists, such as a state that has gone through a civil war and been broke into several different geopolitical states. A failing government, in a few different respects, is quite common in a failed state. Civil war, for example, marks a failing government, as does a government that no longer has the public, military, or economic support to govern over the entire area within its borders.

Call (1495) explains that the concept of a failed state has emerged in large part as a response to growing threats from terrorist cells emerging in geopolitical states that are unable to stop such cells from growing. In Afghanistan, in particular, the term failed state was applied because of the inability of the Afghan government to stop terrorist cells from emerging and growing within its borders. Call (1505) also argues that the term is unhelpful from a policy perspective because of the term’s ambiguity and overuse. Similarly, the term fragile has emerged to denote internal conflict, violence, political instability, poverty, and security threats within a geopolitical state (Nay 327). Most commonly, the term is applied to developing states. Again, the term fragile is used ambiguously and, thus, may not be appropriate for policy discussions. Explored in this paper are the applications of the terms failed states and fragile states to the current situations in Somalia and Syria.

Somalia is a coastal state on the eastern edge of Africa. Known for its prominent contemporary pirate problems, Somalia has struggled to maintain a central government. Regional and local governments now serve as the prominent forms of government in the state, with its current federal government being limited in scope, under-resourced, and negligent in addressing issues across the state (Karagiannis 123). Somalia ranks second on the fragile state index, with a score in 2017 of 113.4, second only to South Sudan with a score of 113.9. The fragile state index includes a number of measures, including the rates of violence in the state and the ability of the national government to maintain order and rule of law throughout the state.

The proliferation of terrorist organizations also threatens peace throughout Somalia. Currently, the national government has been unable to stop the growth of terrorist cells in the southern parts of the state. In fact, Somalia now serves as a hotbed for the formation of transnational terrorist organizations, many of which spread across Africa. Given the inability of the central government in Somalia to prevent the proliferation of terrorist organizations, many of which form their own de facto governments in local areas across the state (Karagiannis 126), the state is often considered a failed state. The sustained violence and internal conflicts qualifies the state for fragile status. Each of these terms have some use in policy decisions regarding Somalia, but only within the specific context of the state. Somalia is surrounded by states with weak central governments. Many of the transnational terrorist cells in the state originated in adjacent states.

Located between Iraq and Turkey, Syria is the source of the greatest refugee crisis in this century. Refugees are leaving in exodus because of the on-going civil war in the state. The current national government is facing multiple threats and has been accused of attacking not only rebel militant groups, but Syrian citizens directly as well. Several terrorist organizations have emerged in Syria, in part to try to wrestle control of Syria from its government and in part to push an ideological agenda across the region (Karagiannis 128). With an on-going civil war and an inability of the Syrian national government to have much governance at all in its Eastern territories, Syria is considered a failed state. It is also considered a fragile state. Syria ranks sixth on the fragile state index with a score of 110.6. The major factor keeping Syria from reaching the fragility score of Somalia is the backing of the current Syrian government by several state powers, including Putin’s Russia. Though such backing has helped the current regime maintain its power in Syria, the civil war continues to rage on. The application of the term failed state is particularly appropriate given the emergence of so many terrorist and rebel organizations. The application of the term fragile state, too, is useful because of the massive refugee crisis and sustained violence. Syria is one of the clearest examples of a failed and fragile state.

The terms failed state and fragile state refer to those states that lack the sort of national governance and control over their own territories. The focus in the application of either of these terms is the prospect for violence to be carried over to other states. When the term failed state is applied by U.S. scholars to a Middle Eastern state, it is most often done so in order to identify a state that may breed terrorism (which of course could affect the U.S.). Fragile states are those that the levels of violence and instability are such that terrorism could arise in the future (if it has not already arisen). It should be kept in mind when applying these terms to states like Somalia and Syria that they are based primarily on the prospects for future threats to other states.