The State of Collapse

Abstract

In the world after the Cold War, not only has the bipolar interstate system of world order dissolved, but in many places the state itself has collapsed. State collapse is a deeper phenomenon than mere rebellion, coup or riot . It refers to a situation where the structure, authority (legitimate power ), law and political order have fallen apart and must be reconstituted in some form, old or new. On the other hand, it is not necessarily anarchy. Nor is it simply a byproduct of the rise of ethnic nationalism; it is the collapse of old orders, notably the state, that brings about the retreat to ethnic nationalism as the residual, viable identity , and not the reverse. Indeed, one hypothesis to be pursued is that when the state collapses, order and power (but not always legitimacy) falls down to local groups or is up for grabs. These ups and downs of power then vie with central attempts to reconstitute authority. For a period, the state itself as a legitimate, functioning order is gone.