Published August 23, 2012 | By Felipe Umaña

The Straits of Malacca consist of a narrow but lengthy waterway that extends more than 500 miles from the eastern limits of the Andaman Sea to the South China Sea in Southeast Asia. Straddling the sea route between the Indonesian island of Sumatra, the Thai-Malay Peninsula, and the small city-state of Singapore, the Straits of Malacca are known globally for their economic, political, environmental, and strategic importance. The Straits themselves link the Indian Ocean to some of Asia’s most powerful economies, as well as many other trade-influential countries, like the United States, Germany, and Russia.

More than 60,000 vessels traverse the critical chokepoint per year, carrying more than a third of global trade. Due to the amount of traffic, the region is also home to some of the busiest ports in the world, particularly in Singapore. The Straits attract foreign investment with the amount of commerce and trade it supports. The Straits are also the focal point of legal and political issues, such as the sovereignty of territorial waters and the responsibility to secure the waterway. Likewise, the waterway is a source of environmental concern for the littoral countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. The maintenance of the environment is important to all three states in order to not deter tourism or development projects in the area, both of which can in turn influence the economic and political sectors directly. Finally, the Straits are crucial for worldwide communication and resource exchange, making them internationally significant.

Published August 3, 2012 | By Krista Hendry

We at The Fund for Peace have been very excited about the way the Failed States Index (FSI) is being publicly debated in Indonesia. Our main goal in creating the Index is to call attention to issues and challenges many countries are facing. It is not meant as a shaming tool against any government. Rather, it is a tool we hope government and civil society will use to perform more in-depth analyses of the issues we measure based on local knowledge. They can then better map priorities, measure progress on issues, and hopefully identify gaps where they can work in collaboration to strengthen the various social, economic, and political indicators we assess.

Despite its name, we are not calling any country a "failed state." We prefer to think of it as a barometer of the continued pressures on the state, and capacity of the state and the society to cope with and mitigate the pressures they experience. The fact the debate in Indonesia has begun to move away from a focus on the term “failed state” to a discussion of how people in Indonesia locally define the issues is very welcome. For policy making we believe government and civil society within the country should work together to consider the issues and set priorities – and measure progress over time.

An international organization like The Fund for Peace is able to call attention to global issues by creating a global index. These are useful tools, but they are not the end of an assessment, but just the beginning.

Published July 19, 2012 | By Tierney Anderson and Amelia Whitehead

In recent years, Indonesia has been an success story with significant economic growth and political reform. Indonesia successfully survived the global financial crisis by boosting the output of industrial production and exports, resulting in continued GDP growth.

In order to sustain its economic growth and democratic development, Indonesia needs to address some of the key challenges that continues to hinder its progress. These challenges include infrastructure development, unemployment, corruption, violence against religious minorities and education.

June 20, 2011
By J. J. Messner and Melody Knight
The Failed States Index

From the earthquake in Haiti to the volcano in Iceland, 2010 was a big year for natural disasters. Over a quarter million people were killed last year, and millions displaced, as a result of blizzards, droughts, earthquakes, floods, heat waves, landslides, and super typhoons, making it the deadliest year in more than a generation. These disasters claimed the lives of over 290,000 people in 2010, compared with just 11,000 in 2009, according to Munich Re.

Though conflict and poverty tend to be the domain of countries at the worst end of the Failed States Index, natural disasters are non-discriminating, terrorizing the “rich” and “poor” alike. But their actual effect can be particularly damaging for developing states. Poor infrastructure and urban crowding maximize fatalities and disrupt the ability to provide service to survivors. Displacement can also exacerbate existing tensions between groups and strains on supplies.

Published January 31, 2011 | By Ryan Costello

Status of International Nonproliferation and Counterterrorism Efforts in Southeast Asia