Is South Africa a fragile State?

The latest index compiled by The Fund for Peace and published by Foreign Policy magazine indicates which countries are teetering on the brink of collapse – and where South Africa fits into the bigger picture.

Foreign Policy noted that states rarely change fundamentally year to year. Nine of the index’s 10 most fragile states in 2013 held the same positions in 2012 index, it said.

The 2013 ranking saw hopes for change in Libya effectively nullified, while South Sudan – “the world’s newest country” – descended into civil war.

On the other side of the coin, however, the magazine noted a great improvement in stability in Iran, while China and Turkey also weathered through social turbulence.

The index is compiled by looking at data during the course of 2013 across 12 political, economic, and social indicators, rated out of 10 (where 10 indicates poor performance):

Looking at the most fragile states in the world, the index is dominated by African nations.

Stability index map (click to enlarge)

Six of the top ten nations – all in the top spots – are from the continent, with Foreign Policy pegging Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe’s administration as an abysmal human rights low-light.

South Africa is ranked 115th in the index – out of 178 nations measured, this places the country in the middle-reaches of global stability, but near the top as one of the most stable nations on the continent.

South Africa’s strongest indicator is the lack of foreign intervention taking place in the country (3.2), while it’s protection of human rights (4.3) and levels of migration (4.6) also scored relatively well.

However, South Africa scored poorly for disparities in development among different population groups within the country (7.7) and other concerns related to the population, such as food scarcity and population growth (7.4).

South Africa – 115th

Botswana (121st) is ranked as a more stable country than South Africa, while Mauritius (145th) is the most stable nation on the African continent.

15 most fragile states

In terms of the most stable countries in the world, the list is dominated by European nations, led by Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway.

The UK was ranked 161st overall (18th most stable), while the USA was ranked two places lower on the index (159th, or 20th most stable).

“The political brinkmanship that has defined Washington throughout Barack Obama’s administration came to a head during the government shutdown in October 2013,” Foreign Policy said.

“As a result, the United States had its worst score on the Factionalized Elites indicator in the nine years that the country has been included in the index.”

The magazine also noted that the release of classified NSA documents by Edward Snowden, as well as the April 2013 bombings at the Boston Marathon, also contributed to the country’s comparative decline.

15 most stable countries

For the full rankings, see Foreign Policy magazine’s feature.

[Image credit: Kozachenko Oleksandr / Shutterstock.com]

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