Fragile states / Working Paper
The proliferation of the "parallel state"
13/10/2008 By Ivan Briscoe
Democracy and modern institutions have spread across the developing world in the past three decades, but the results are not always as expected. In some notorious cases, parts of the state and the judicial system have become accomplices of organised crime and terror groups, generating intense public insecurity, stalling efforts to reduce poverty and causing major headaches for foreign governments seeking to stabilise these violent nations.
J.Razuri/AFP/Getty Images
Based on a close study of Pakistan and Guatemala, as well as a number of other cases ranging from Fujimori's Peru to contemporary Guinea-Bissau, this Working Paper sets out to define the novel concept of the "parallel state". It explains the emergence of these states in contexts where democracy and open markets have recently been installed, and analyses the ways in which political leaders and the public connect with entrenched criminal groups.
The international community's dilemma is clear: in dealing with these countries, care must be taken not to secure strategic favours at the cost of empowering untouchable institutions.
Download the full version of this publication, available in English (889 kB)
Spanish (905 kB)
Keywords
Asia Crime Eastern Europe and Russia El Salvador Fragile state Governance Guatemala Guinea-Bissau Haiti Latin America & Caribbean Pakistan Peru Security SerbiaRelated publications
- Already a failed state? Pakistan in the aftermath of Bhutto's assassination
- Crime and drugs in fragile states
- Crisis of the State and Civil Domains in Africa
- Organised crime, drug trafficking, terrorism: the new Achilles heel of West Africa
- Organized Crime, the State, and Democracy: the cases of Central America and the Caribbean
- Reform versus capture: Guatemala after the elections
Bio author: Ivan Briscoe
Ivan Briscoe studied philosophy, politics and economics (PPE) at the University of Oxford, before receiving a Frank Knox Memorial Fellowship to continue his studies for a year at Harvard University. He has also completed a master's degree in Development at Madrid's Complutense University. From 2004 he has worked as the editor of the English edition of El País (Madrid). He writes often on Latin America and developing world issues for Open Democracy (www.opendemocracy.net) and The New Internationalist, and has taken part in numerous radio programmes on the BBC, Radio Nederland and Radio France International.
