176     Current Issues in Comparative Education

BOOK REVIEWS

Fragile States, by Lohar Brock, Hans-Henrik Holm, Georg Sørensen & Michael Stohl. Polity Press: 
Cambridge, UK, 2012. 200 pp. ISBN-13: 978-0745649429

In an era when good governance features prominently on the global development agenda, there 
seems to be a corollary spotlight on state fragility. In this book – a quick read that covers much 
ground – the authors wade into the conceptual waters of state fragility with the following aims: (i) 
sketching more clearly its conceptual parameters, including its core characteristics; (ii) dissecting 
its	connection	to	violent	conflict;	(iii)	analyzing	the	role	that	international	society	has	played	in	
relation to fragile statehood; and (iv) laying out two proposals for tackling its intractability. These 
analyses are conducted through the prism of three case studies: The Democratic Republic of the 
Congo (DRC), Afghanistan, and Haiti. 

Fragile states are sometimes called “weak states” or “failed states”; at times, the terms are used 
interchangeably, and at other times, distinctions are made. From the onset, the authors explicitly 
resist	 the	 urge	 to	 extensively	 engage	 the	 debate	 surrounding	 terms	 such	 as	 ‘fragile’,	 ‘weak’,	
‘failed’,	‘failing’,	‘quasi.’	Instead,	they	aver	that	“the	question	of	labelling	is	not	crucial	here;	as	
long	as	we	accept	that	summarizing	concepts	are	needed,	who	wins	the	terminological	beauty	
contest is less important” (p. 15). Their exhaustive exploration of the characteristics that actually 
constitute	fragile	statehood	does	perhaps	sufficiently	buffer	them	from	criticism	for	their	aversion	
to	terminological	debate.	However,	it	ought	to	be	briefly	noted	that	nomenclatural	imprecision	
may not necessarily present major heuristic challenges, but ontologically, the wide ranging 
possibilities	of	‘fragile/	weak/	failed’	may	be	a	catch-all	phrase	that	merely	complicates	efforts	to	
tackle issues that do require actual differentiation. 

However,	one	of	the	book’s	strengths	is	its	elucidation	of	the	three	core	characteristics	of	fragile	
statehood,	which	 center	 on	 the	 realms	of	 government,	 economy,	 and	nationhood.	The	first	 of	
these	characteristics	refer	to	the	inefficiency	and	corruption	of	institutional	and	administrative	
structures whereby the legitimacy of the state is almost non-existent: “there are no effective 
mechanisms for holding leaders accountable to the populations” (p. 16). The second characteristic 
is	 constituted	 by	 a	 deficient	 and	 fragmented	 economy	whereby	 consistent	 provision	 of	 even	
rudimentary services for the populace is often all but impossible: “fragile states lack coherent 
national economies which are capable of sustaining a basic level of welfare for the population 
and of providing resources for running an effective state” (p. 16). The third characteristic concerns 
nationhood,	whereby	 any	 concretized	 coalescence	 around	 the	notion	of	 an	 imagined	national	
community is non-existent: “in these states, ethnic identities connected to tribal, religious and 
similar characteristics continue to dominate over the national identity. The national community 
of sentiment has not grown strong, partly because the state has not been able to create effective 
citizenship”	(p.	17).	

Brock	et	al.	adroitly	compare	state	formation	in	Europe	circa	1648	and	onward	to	today’s	states.	
The	 comparison	 explains	how	 imposition	of	 a	violent	 colonialism	contributed	 significantly	 to	
discontinuities, clientalism, and nepotism that are germane to fragile states, while simultaneously 
acknowledging that “state formation proceeds in dissimilar ways and moves in different 
directions” (p. 6). The authors aver that “fragile states owe their continued existence to the ‘world 
culture’	of	the	sovereign	nation-state	which	emerged	with	decolonization	and	triumphed	with	



Current Issues in Comparative Education     177

the	break-up	of	the	‘Socialist	World	System’”	(p.	39).	However,	it	is	at	this	junction	that	they	part	
ways	with	‘radical	dependency	theory.’	They	concur	with	its	basic	tenets	regarding	the	role	of	
external domination in facilitating the weakness of fragile states, but critique it for its omission 
of or lack of comprehensive attention to endogenous factors: “fragile states have emerged from 
a mixture of domestic and international conditions, both of which are fundamentally unlike 
anything experienced by the successful states in the West” (p. 10). This nuanced analysis, upon 
which I will elaborate below, is the core strength of this book. 

That state fragility is a consequence of both endogenous and exogenous factors is a cornerstone 
of this book, and by deploying the DRC, Afghanistan and Haiti as three geographically disparate 
case studies, the authors are able to highlight these factors. They feature, inter alia: a long history 
of external domination, including colonialism and subsequent interventions; protracted violence; 
identity politics; self-seeking elites; and grossly mismanaged resources which become a “curse” 
rather	than	a	source	of	widely	distributed	economic	benefit.	

Because violence is often such a staple of fragile states, Brock et al. expend considerable effort in 
deconstructing the connection between violence and state fragility: they “do not argue that there is a 
deterministic, law-like relationship between state fragility and violence” (p. 48); but acknowledge 
that “state fragility...is both a cause and a consequence of violence” (p. 47). Within the calculus of 
violent	conflict,	the	authors	do	consider	the	role	of	resources,	economics,	and	identities,	but	posit	
that	these	are	‘enabling	factors’,	that	may	prolong/fuel	the	conflict,	rather	than	being	the	‘basic	
causes’	of	the	conflict/violence;	that	is,	these	are	all	subordinate	to	the	“political	processes	that	
generate	and	perpetuate	violent	conflict”	(p.	52).	While	it	is	an	arduous	task	to	disentangle	the	
political from the socio-economic, Brock et al. anchor their analysis within a structure/process 
perspective, which factors in the impacts of colonialism, the Cold War, neoliberal politics and 
economics, and the U.S.-led War on Terror (subsequent to the 9/11 attacks). In this context, it 
may be useful to consider a dynamical systems approach to studying state fragility, as a way of 
overcoming	 the	urge	 to	prioritize	political	 factors	over	 the	 socio-economic.	 Such	an	approach	
involves visual mapping of the complicated and multi-layered connections of myriad factors (For 
an	application,	see	for	instance	Peter	Coleman’s	2011	work,	The Five Percent: Finding Solutions to 
Seemingly Impossible Conflicts.)

Despite	the	authors’	weighing	of	both	internal	and	external	factors	to	state	fragility,	they	pivot	
to a critique of interventionism, arguing that “both domestic and international conditions make 
interventions	problematic	undertakings”	(p.	97).	They	posit	that	the	increasingly	reified	notions	
of	sovereignty	and	non-intervention	that	were	promulgated	in	the	decolonizing	era	have	been	
tested and/or sullied as a result of the botched affair in Somalia, the international paralysis over 
the Rwandan genocide, the delayed Bosnian intervention, the Iraq war and the most recent Libyan 
revolution. In fact, these suggest an incoherent global template for interventionism, despite the 
2001-created	agenda	entitled	‘Responsibility	to	Protect’.	Brock	et	al.	demonstrate	how	the	hesitancy	
by nations of the West and the Global South is not unfounded, since the impacts of interventions 
(both military but especially development aid) in the three case studies – DRC, Afghanistan, and 
Haiti	–	have	been	mostly	nullified	by	the	fragility	of	those	states	and	the	endogenous	conditions	
that constitute them. 

The	authors	conclude	that	the	aforementioned	presents	the	global	community	with	a	significant	
dilemma	between	respecting	national	sovereignty	and	protecting	citizens	from	“genocide,	war	
crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity” (p. 162). This dilemma is aggravated by 
the fact that the international community seems to lack the capacity to foster sustained stability 



178     Current Issues in Comparative Education

within fragile states. In the face of these conundrums, Brock et al. offer two proposals: (i) the need 
to “re-examine external conditions and forms of engagement that foster or support the mitigation 
of fragile statehood” and (ii) that the global community should “be ready to do more, and with 
much	greater	speed	in	emergency	situations”	(p.	165).	A	requisite	component	of	the	first	proposal	
involves an overhaul of international development, whereby effective self-help is fostered and 
the more economically advanced economies revisit the disequilibrium of “trade relations, market 
access,	 investment	 rules,	 financial	 regulation,	 the	 rules	 and	 regulations	 of	 the	 international	
organizations,	and	‘transnational	bads’,	such	as	smuggling,	the	drugs	trade,	the	arms	trade,	[and]	
international terrorism” (p. 167). 

These are indeed worthwhile recommendations, though more effort should have been expended 
on their elaboration. Nonetheless, this book represents a strong contribution toward widening 
our understanding of fragile states; and despite the far-ranging analysis of both endogenous and 
exogenous factors that shape state fragility, the authors are perhaps quite right when they insist 
that “fundamental social change must come from [within and] not from outsiders” (p. 136). 

– Reviewed by Hakim Mohandas Amani Williams, Gettysburg College 

Citizenship Education in Commonwealth Countries,	by	Tristan	McCowan	and	Sonia	Gomez.	London,	
UK: Commonwealth Secretariat, 2012. 100 pp. ISBN-13 978-1849290715.

Citizenship Education in Commonwealth Countries	analyzes	the	use	of	citizenship	education	as	an	
educational intervention to promote respect and understanding in different Commonwealth 
countries.	According	 to	McCowan	and	Gomez,	 “given	 that	half	 of	 the	 2	 billion	people	 in	 the	
Commonwealth	 are	 under	 25	 years	 old,	 citizenship	 education,	 whether	 implicit	 or	 explicit,	
represents	a	window	of	opportunity	to	influence	a	world	of	active	citizenship	and	peace	for	the	
next generation” (p. 25). With this in mind, Citizenship Education in Commonwealth Countries offers 
a	complex	look	at	citizenship	education	in	a	global	era.	The	authors	explore	both	what	it	means	
to	be	a	citizen	 in	a	global	society	and	how	to	create	cosmopolitan	citizens	 through	education.	
Spanning	the	range	of	issues	associated	with	citizenship	education	from	theorizing	citizenship	
to	 implementing	 interventions,	McCowan	and	Gomez	provide	useful	 insights	 into	 innovative	
teaching	strategies	that	foster	respect	and	understanding	in	cosmopolitan	citizens.	

In	the	most	traditional	sense,	citizenship	“involves	a	relationship	between	the	citizen	and	other	
citizens	 or	 the	 state,	 and	 involves	 concessions	 and	 privileges	 on	 both	 sides”	 (p.	 14).	 Because	
citizenship	education	has	often	been	 framed	by	patriotic	citizenship	 in	a	given	nation-state,	 it	
has	 failed	to	address	 issues	of	 international	conflict.	However,	defining	citizenship	 in	a	global	
era proves particularly complicated, as members of diverse ethnic and religious groups claim 
citizenship	within	the	same	national	boundaries.	In	this	context,	the	ideal	cosmopolitan	citizen	
emerges	 –	 not	 a	 national	 citizen	 focused	 on	 competing	 successfully	 in	 global	markets,	 but	 a	
cosmopolitan	global	citizen	who	displays	empathy	through	respect	and	understanding	for	diverse	
groups	 of	 people.	 Aiming	 to	 build	 cosmopolitan	 citizens	 through	 education,	 McCowan	 and	
Gomez	employ	Martha	Nussbaum’s	three	capacities:	critical	self-examination,	world	citizenship,	
and the narrative imagination. 

Across	different	Commonwealth	countries,	citizenship	education	has	been	practiced	in	different	
ways	and	 to	varying	degrees.	McCowan	and	Gomez	review	those	practices	 in	case	studies	of