Ten years of fragile states: what have we learned
Author of this policy paper is Laurence Chandy, fellow in the research program 'Global Economy and Development' of the Washington-based think tank The Brookings Institute. He reviews the international policy towards development strategies in fragile states, that was initiated by the World Bank in 2001.
In November that year Paul Collier and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweal started with heading a taskforce that would produce a report on then called 'Low-Income Countries Under Stress' that was in subsequent years of major importance to the development of knowledge and policies regarding fragile states.
This review shows that in 10 years of fragile states policy - marked by the Busan High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness - the international community has become a lot wiser. It points towards a revision of notions that were common knowledge in this period, among which the idea that only the lowest income states can be defined as failing and the idea that aid to failed states can hardly be effective.
The Brookings Institution 2011
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