Published October 12, 2012 | By Erin Crandell

Turkey has managed to weather both the economic crisis in neighboring Europe and the political instability coming from the Middle East. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development (A.K.) Party swept the parliamentary elections in June 2011 and have continued to loosen the secularism of Atatürk’s Republic. The Erdogan government has also begun to move towards a stronger diplomatic presence in Middle Eastern affairs which has seen some diplomatic clashes and a more strained relations with Israel and a rapidly escalating conflict with neighboring Syria. Turkey has taken a strong stance against the Assad regime of Syria, providing safe haven to Syrian refugees and increasing engaging in heated rhetoric with its neighbor, as well as beefing up its military presence on the border.

Published October 9, 2012 | By Natalie White

The 2008 global recession provided a major setback to the Romanian economy, spurring economic and political turmoil. Romania has borrowed heavily from the International Monetary Fund, European Commission and World Bank to help survive the recession. With the new debt adding up to nearly €20 billion, severe austerity measures were put in place during 2010. Protests followed, as public sector workers experienced substantial wage cuts. With economic stagnation failing to abate, protests intensified in 2012 involving clashes with police. The civil unrest has divided the country politically with the president and prime minister becoming locked in political conflict. Romanians find common ground in their general mistrust of political and business leaders, as corruption and organized crime is endemic.

Published October 9, 2012 | By Elizaveta Egorova and Filipa Carreira

Azerbaijan significantly improved its overall score in 2012, improving by 2.2 points and moving from 68th to 63rd on the Failed States Index. Azerbaijan has made some recent gains in social-economic policies, and military capacity. Despite significant gains in other areas, the unresolved conflict with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh will continue to handicap further development.

Published October 9, 2012 | By Elizaveta Egorova and Felipe Umaña

Recently, Georgia has demonstrated significant socio-economic and political gains. After a severe economic crisis and the war with Russia in 2008, Georgia has moved towards ample recovery and has shown signs of stability. The country’s foreign policy relations and the overall political image internationally have also improved. Relations with the U.S. (particularly through NATO) and the European Union have likewise grown as the government under Mikheil Saakashvili has increased diplomacy with the West. However, the somewhat unexpected 2012 victory of Bidzina Ivanishvili’s Georgia Dream party in legislative elections may lead to increased political divisions ahead.

Published September 30, 2012 | By Erin Crandell and Filipa Carreira

Like many ex-Soviet bloc states, Armenia’s development has been crippled by endemic and systemic corruption. Organized crime, linked to human trafficking, drug trafficking and smuggling of weapons materials, continues. The country’s poor record of State Legitimacy dates back to 2008 when President Serge Sargsian, invoking a state of emergency, used brutal force to quell post election violence. Human Rights violations on the part of the state and security forces continue today. The ripple effect of the European Union’s economic crisis aggravated the national economy and provoked a decline in foreign investment and remittances.

Published September 20, 2012 | By Amelia Whitehead and Filipa Carreira

Since the violence of 2010, Kyrgyzstan has made significant strides towards reestablishing stability within its borders. In October 2010, the country held its first free and fair parliamentary elections, resulting in the formation of a coalition government. However, the current peace remains fragile. Ethnic tensions, exacerbated by the recent violence, continue to fester. Osh constitutes to be a key transit point in the Central Asian drug trade, linking heroin producers in Afghanistan to buyers across Europe. Religious freedoms have been sharply curtailed, due in part to concerns over radical Islamist groups. Kyrgyzstan was the most-improved nation in the 2012 Failed States Index.

Published August 22, 2012 | By Natalie Manning

Despite some gains made after the 2011 revolution, such as a successful transition of government, new President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi faces many challenges. Ousted President Ali Abdullah Saleh still yields considerable power in the country, and President Hadi has been unable to purge many of Saleh’s loyalists who hold top positions in the government and military. The South remains unsettled due to the presence of a militant insurgency. In addition, the extreme terrain in Yemen makes it the ideal haven for rebels and al-Qaeda militants, with several terrorist bomb attacks occurring in Yemen in early 2012. Many Yemeni are still very poor, there is a high illiteracy rate and rampant government corruption.

Published August 22, 2012 | By Amelia Whitehead

The Central African Republic faces a number of obstacles to its development. Fighting between the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and government forces continues, causing the number of displaced persons in the region to swell. The United States and the European Union have increasingly recognized the threat posed by the LRA to central African stability, and in December 2011 agreed to provide the Bozize government with additional assistance in combating the rebels. The signing of peace accords with various rebel groups in 2011 significantly decreased the level of violence in the country; however, the country’s growth rates continue to lag due to the lack of basic infrastructure.

Published August 22, 2012 | By Felipe Umaña

An important transition began in 2011 when the Iraqi government took greater control of the country following the withdrawal of the coalition forces. However, the continuation of sectarian violence has slowed any substantial reform, and preexisting prejudices instill distrust amongst several ethnic groups. Furthermore, the damaged oil infrastructure and continued disputes over the administration of oil fields between Baghdad and the Kurdish authorities are obstacles to the increase of oil revenues. The almost decade-long war has stymied virtually all forms of development. Other challenges include widespread corruption, low foreign investment, and a severely damaged transportation infrastructure.

Published August 22, 2012 | By Natalie Manning

Haiti’s existing challenges were exacerbated by the 2010 earthquake that killed over 200,000 people and displaced a million more. The rebuilding of infrastructure has barely begun, and a cholera outbreak has added to Haiti’s woes. The country remains the poorest in the Western hemisphere and is heavily reliant on aid for survival. Haiti will need to diversify its economy to become self-sustaining, including focusing on developing the rural areas and reviving agriculture to reduce its reliance on imported food.

Published August 8, 2012 | By Tierney Anderson

Though the economy is slowly recovering and the 2009 ZANU-PF and Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) power-sharing agreement following the 2008 post-election violence has tenuously held, Zimbabwe remains a highly unstable country. Political violence, human rights abuses by government and police, and widespread unemployment have left Zimbabwe in a state of deep insecurity. Ministries in the unity government are split between ZANU-PF and the MDC, making reforms challenging. Intimidation and arbitrary arrests of opposition leaders, internal rifts within ZANU-PF, and rising tensions in the lead-up to elections continue to undermine the unity government.

Published August 8, 2012 | By Felipe Umaña

Sudan has been characterized by war and instability for over two decades and has twice been ranked at the top of the Failed States Index, in 2006 and 2007. Despite being very resource-rich, Sudan has experienced significant internal security challenges under the leadership of Omar al-Bashir, who himself became the first sitting leader of a country to be indicted by the International Criminal Court.

The outcome of a 2011 independence referendum split the former Sudan into two countries, creating the new nation of South Sudan after years of internal disagreements. Even after the secession of South Sudan, hostilities remain between both countries, with a return to violence a constant threat. The situation with South Sudan continues to add pressure to both countries, specifically in terms of a growing refugee population, weak and unpredictable economies, and inadequate and damaged infrastructure. This is compounded by ongoing conflict in the Darfur region of the country, where human rights abuses are endemic. Sudan’s economic situation will likely worsen given that most of its former oil fields now lie on the South Sudanese side of the border. Despite a slight improving trend from 2007 to 2011, Sudan’s myriad problems will continue to heavily overshadow any improvements.

Published August 8, 2012 | By Amelia Whitehead

Since 2011, Chad’s political and economic situation has progressed significantly. The improvement in Chadian-Sudanese relations has led to a fall in the number of refugees and internally displaced persons, as fighting in the Darfur region has decreased in conjunction with the cessation of Chadian funding for the various rebel groups operating in the area. However, though oil extraction has granted the government more than US$754 billion in additional revenues, investment in poverty-alleviation projects remains low. Rising militancy and instability in nearby countries such as Nigeria and Mali could also spill over into Chad, threatening its current relative stability.

Published July 20, 2012 | By Felipe Umaña

After decades of kleptocracy under the rule of despot Mobutu Sese Seko, Zaïre (now the Democratic Republic of Congo) descended into conflict when invading forces in the east, led by Laurent Kabila and backed by Burundi, Rwanda and Uganda, overthrew Mobutu. The conflict nevertheless has continued largely unabated, dragging in most of the country’s neighbors in a conflict of changing alliances. Kabila was assassinated in 2001 and was succeeded by his son Joseph, who immediately called for multilateral peace talks to end the conflict. Despite the signing of peace accords in 2003, fighting continues in the east of the country where the prevalence of rape and displacement remains a serious concern. The country’s first multi-party elections since independence in 1960 saw Joseph Kabila officially win with 70% of the vote despite reports of irregularities.

Incumbent President Kabila won re-election at the November 2011 general polls. Although international observers contested the results, Kabila was sworn in the month after. The fragility of the state government led to instability and to a lack of capacity in the second-largest country in Africa, where poverty remains widespread in spite of immense economic resources. In the eastern provinces, human rights abuses by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) were reported. The country is also still host to the largest UN peacekeeping mission in the world, MONUSCO, with over 19,000 uniformed peacekeepers.

Published July 20, 2012 | By Felipe Umaña

Afghanistan has been continuously ravaged by war since the 1980s, after a Soviet-led invasion left the country severely impoverished and bereft of a legitimate government. The vacuum that existed after the Soviet withdrawal saw warring tribes and the Taliban vying for control over the country. Since then, Afghanistan has seen little development as the central government has focused its energies on combating its enemies. Poverty-stricken and without adequate access to healthcare, Afghanis have, for the most part, abandoned hope in the government’s efforts to reform the nation. Traditional tribal politics have superseded the central government’s initiatives.

Many anti-Taliban forces in Afghanistan are anticipating the 2014 NATO withdrawal, merging efforts to ensure a united coalition against powerful pressure groups like the Taliban. As one of the world’s poorest states, Afghanistan also faces a very low level of security and stability, which are a detriment to all facets of society. Afghanistan faces a myriad of economic, political, and social challenges that it needs to address before the country can begin to see positive growth and development. A growing drug trade and widespread violence belittle the country’s frail legal system and continue to put pressure on government authority.