State Fragility

by Nematullah Bizhan (Editor)

Presenting case studies and comparisons across seven countries, this book addresses key questions as to the nature of state fragility, policies used to mitigate it, assessment of outcomes and prospects. It offers a novel empirical contribution in examining a range of distinct but interdependent dimensions of state fragility, not only focusing on questions of state legitimacy, capacity and authority, but also involving the economy and resilience to political and economic shocks, as well as at vital questions of context and diversity. Examining Afghanistan, Lebanon, Burundi, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Papua New Guinea and Rwanda within the context of their different local circumstances, and within broader questions of global security, the book identifies unique factors that have played a part in their specific context and explores key drivers and dominant features. This book will be of key interest to scholars and students of state fragility and more broadly to students of politics, public policy, development studies, state-society relations, political economy, state building, peace and conflict studies, international studies, security studies regional studies., as well as NGOs and international organizations.

326 pages, Hardcover

Published September 27, 2022

About the author

Nematullah Bizhan is a Lecturer in Public Policy at the Development Policy Centre, Crawford school of Public Policy, Australian National University. He is also a Senior Research Associate with the Global Economic Governance Program, Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford University. In 2017 and 2018 , Nematullah was a Research Fellow at the Blavatnik School of Government undertaking research on the role of identities and networks in establishing state legitimacy and effectiveness, and, in association with the Oxford-LSE Commission on State Fragility, Growth and Development, he worked on state fragility and international policy. He was an Oxford-Princeton Global Leaders Fellow at the University College, Oxford University (2015-16) and the Niehaus Centre for Globalization and Governance, Princeton University (2014-15). He is a member of the steering committees of both the South Asia in World Politics Section of the International Studies Association (ISA) and the Oxford Network of Peace Studies (OxPeace).

His research interests include public policy, international development, state fragility and state building as well as post-conflict reconstruction. He has published widely in high impact peer-reviewed press and journals. His recent book, Aid Paradoxes in Afghanistan: Building and Undermining the State, examines the process of state building and international intervention in Afghanistan. Nematullah is currently working on an edited volume on state fragility and public policy, which includes seven country case studies. His opinion pieces have appeared in Project Syndicate, Foreign Policy, ABC, Development Policy Centre blog, BBC Persian and 8Sobh Daily. His op-ed, A Path to Self-Reliance for Afghanistan, appeared in 27 publications in 9 languages around the world. He is a regular commentator on TV and Radio.

As a senior official at the ministries of Finance and Economy, and the Office of Chief Economist to the President in Afghanistan, Nematullah contributed to development programs and reforms that helped Afghanistan’s immediate post-2001 recovery. He served as Afghanistan’s Youth Deputy Minister; Founding Director General for Policy and Monitoring of Afghanistan National Development Strategy; Head of the Secretariat for the Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board; and Director General of Budget at the Ministry of Finance. As a civil society activist, he has also contributed to promoting accountability and civic participation in decision-making processes.

Nematullah has a PhD in Political Science and International Relations from the Australian National University (Canberra 2014), an MA in Development Economics from Williams College (Massachusetts 2006), and an MD from Ibnsina Medical Faculty (Balkh 2001). He was an Australian Leadership Awardee (2009-2013) and a Fulbright Scholar (2005-2006). Born and raised in Afghanistan, he graduated from school with the highest honour.