Atlantic Council FREEDOM AND PROSPERITY CENTER
ISSUE BRIEF
Less Freedom, Weaker States, More Conflict: Can That Cycle Be Broken? SEPTEMBER 2023 PATRICK W. QUIRK AND OWEN L. MYERS
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tate fragility threatens US security and economic interests. Ungoverned territory provides space for violent extremist organizations to organize and train. Fragile states are often vulnerable to adversaries like China and Russia, providing them with an opening to advance geopolitical interests that undermine US objectives and harm local populaces. People suffer as corrupt elites seize state institutions and resources to advance their own interests rather than deliver the goods and services expected from the government. State fragility is often characterized by a breakdown in the government’s legitimacy and an inability to provide public services and security, among other key challenges. Given that democratic deficits often underlie state fragility, sustainably reducing fragility requires strengthening democratic institutions that fulfill the social contract, ensuring citizens have avenues to freely express their political views, and enabling robust political parties to translate citizens’ views into policy and address associated concerns.
The Freedom and Prosperity Center aims to increase the well-being of people everywhere and especially that of the poor and marginalized in developing countries through unbiased, data-based research on the relationship between prosperity and economic, political, and legal freedoms, in support of sound policy choices.
The United States and like-minded allies have made important strides in addressing challenges from fragile states and appropriately prioritizing democracy and governance as a part of the solution. This includes, most recently, the United States creating its Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability (SPCPS), as mandated by the 2019 Global Fragility Act (GFA).1 In it, the United States argues for the importance of democracy and governance to addressing fragility: “Our efforts through the Global Fragility Act will advance the President’s call to action … to demonstrate that democratic governance and respect for human rights deliver for all people; that this approach is the best way to reduce fragility, advance sustainable development, and mitigate risks of violent conflict and instability. … We will therefore work with partner governments and communities to foster legitimate, inclusive, transparent, and accountable political systems that reduce fragility.”2 1
US Department of State, United States Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability, 2020, https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/us-strategy-to-prevent-conflict-and-promotestability.pdf; Global Fragility Act of 2019, S.727–116th Cong. (2019-2021) (1st sess.), July 18, 2019, https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/BILLS-116s727rs.
2
US Department of State, Prologue to the United States Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability, 2022, https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/CSO-2022-SPCPSprologueEN-FINAL-508-Accessible-05172022.pdf.