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Article: The Conservator: saving states from political bankruptcy.(picking up the pieces: FAILED STATES)
- Article from:
- Harvard International Review
- Article date:
- January 1, 2008
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2008 Harvard International Relations Council, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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The last several decades have seen a growing awareness of the phenomenon of failed states and its implications for the international system. In part, failed states are a product of the great proliferation of the nation-state model after 1945, which was punctuated by the founding of the United Nations and the decline of European colonialism. Failed states reveal the weaknesses of the original Westphalian model, but also uncover its strengths. What may be most remarkable is that the nation-state model, born and nurtured in Europe over 300 years ago, has been so successfully adapted to many different societies around the world. As the embodiment of sovereignty, the ...