Political Development: Four Challenges
Nation building – all inhabitants of a given territory, regardless of individual ethnic, tribal, religious, or linguistic differences, come to identify with symbols and institutions of the state and share a common sense of identity.
State building – denotes the creation of political institutions—in particular, a central government—capable of exercising authority and providing services.
Participation – for new societies to prosper and grow economically, the people must be actively engaged in the development process.
Distribution – how to reduce the extreme inequalities that often characterize traditional societies.
Political development = display certain common traits: a stable government, a merit-based civil service system, basic public services, and legal structures.
Dysfunctional States (Land of Warlords)
Somalia – the civil war (clan war) left 300,000 dead and millions at risk of starvation.
A near-total breakdown of law and order plunged the country into anarchy and placed women and children at the mercy of armed bandits.
Somalia remained a country without a national government (illiteracy rate is more than 75%).
If Somalia cannot find formula for political stability, it cannot rebuild its economy.