First among these principles, as I have suggested, is that the prospects for state failure or success flow from the character of its people and its civil society. (firstthings.com)
We have urgent security interests, though, that arise from state failure, and are justified in employing force to protect ourselves. (firstthings.com)
We assess that climate change alone is unlikely to trigger state failure in any state out to 2030, but the impacts will worsen existing problems — such as poverty, social tensions, environmental degradation, ineffectual leadership, and weak political institutions. (dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com)