Weak states and security

Abstract

Although the weak 1 failing states have often been deseribed as the single most important problem for the international order s ince the en d of Cold W ar (F .Fukuyaına 2004:92) several dimensions of this phenomenon still remain unexplored. While this phenomenon has been present in the international politics even earlier, only the post Cold W ar period accentuated its relationship with security issues. Following the Cold W ar' s "peaceful" period and the bloody 1990s, the Balkan region today represents a mixture of weak states and international protectorates, positioned equally far from failure as from evcntual success. This study proposcs that there is a strong correlation between the wcak state and security issues. By fuıther investigating this kind of relationship it will analyze ho w state strength impacts security in the post Cold war world. The study will focus on domestic threats to security, concentrating on the Balkans, and in particular, analyzing the range of security problems for Albania and Macedonia. It therefore represents a genuine debate on the security dilemma at the domestic !eve! in the post Cold war environment based on the argument that internal security issues. have gained more importance relative to external threats with the demise of the öipolar international system.