Somalia, Afghanistan and 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 Centre 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.