The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) will feature at the top of most lists for poor governance, political instability or insecurity, and at the bottom of those ranking social and economic development, social service coverage or transparent government. The distinction…
The voluntary repatriation of refugees to their country of origin is often interpreted by the international community as signalling the state’s ability to resume responsibility for its citizens. The formal invocation of a ‘ceased circumstances’ Cessation Clause formalises this interpretation…
Although housing, land and property (HLP) violations are often triggers of conflict and obstacles to peace, there is very limited jurisprudence dealing with HLP abuses, and perpetrators of crimes against land and home are rarely held accountable. Over the last…
Today, the reality of forced displacement is characterised by mixed flows, restrictive migration policies and increasing connections between economic migration and political flight. As a result, assisting forcibly displaced populations already means intervening in different type of settings: camps, detention…
The January 2010 earthquake dealt Haiti – an already fragile state, which ordinary Haitians refer to as ‘the phantom state’ – a devastating blow. Public buildings, power plants, the electricity grid, the sewer system, roads, telephone lines, water treatment works,…
Haiti has endured over two centuries of complex political strife, successive coups d’état, authoritarian governments and international interventions that have left it with weak institutions, largely unresponsive to the needs of the population. Most Haitians have learned to depend on…
“When disorder threatens, seek refuge in Yemen.” So counsels a hadith, or recounted saying of the prophet Mohammed. Since time immemorial, countless people have heeded this advice and come to Yemen in search of safety from violence and instability.[1] Although…
The Somali territories are beginning to emerge from arguably the most difficult period in their history. For two decades large areas of the region have struggled in the absence of any recognisable state infrastructure, and periodic droughts like the one…
It was no surprise that the ‘new’ Iraqi state that emerged from the wreckage after the invasion of 2003 was fragile, with serious implications for human security and displacement which are still felt today by Iraqi society. Obvious drivers of…
In 2011 the Fund for Peace’s Failed State Index ranked the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK or North Korea) 22nd out of 177 countries, giving it a score of 95.5 out of a maximally worst score of 120. This…