Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq top index of weak states

By Sue Pleming

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Somalia, Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Iraq are the four weakest states in the world, according to an index of fragile nations released by two U.S. think tanks on Tuesday.

The Brookings Institution and the Center for Global Development ranked 141 developing countries according to their performance in four core areas -- economic, political, security and social welfare.

Using those indicators, Somalia, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo headed the list and were designated as "failed states." They were followed by Iraq, Burundi, Sudan, Central African Republic, Zimbabwe, Liberia and Ivory Coast.

"Given the role that weak states can play as incubators and breeding grounds for transnational security threats, building state capacity ... should be a higher priority for U.S. policy," said the report.

A weak state is defined as one lacking the capacity to establish and maintain political institutions, secure the population from violent conflict and control their territories or to meet the basic needs of the population.

Following the September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States, studies indicated weak states threatened world security and the Bush administration said dealing with those fragile nations was a national priority.

But the Brookings Institution's Susan Rice, who co-authored the index, said there had not been a big enough focus, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa where most critically weak states were located.

"For all of our newfound rhetoric after 9/11, the U.S. government has yet to generate any kind of coherent approach to strengthening the capacity of weak states," Rice, who is also an adviser to Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama, told Reuters.

A White House spokesman disagreed.

"This report ignores the substantial commitment by President Bush to help countries, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa, recover from years of violence and instability," said White House National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe.

"While there is of course more work to be done, countries like Liberia, where the president recently visited, are clearly headed in the right direction and grateful for the help provided by President Bush and the American people," he said.

The report also included a "watch list" of countries that should be monitored by policymakers because of their significant weakness.

Those included Syria, Algeria, the Philippines, Cuba and Paraguay, but also Russia, which ranked 65 on the overall list as well as India at 67 and China at 74.

"We have to get out of the habit of assuming that states we have come to believe are rising powers -- China, Russia and India -- are all strong states," said Rice.

The report said there was a direct link between low income and a state's weakness. Developed nations should make anti-poverty programs a higher priority.