The Impact of Failed States Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Impact of Failed States - Assignment Example Somalia is a relatively small country with a population of about ten million only but its location in Africa is very strategic as it straddles the Horn of Africa through which most of the worlds shipping passes through. As such, it has become a virtual pirates lair because of a failed state situation. Its proximity to the Gulf of Aden which is a maritime choke point for global trade gives the country strategic importance and requires attention from U.S. foreign policymakers. Internal problems facing Somalia today is the on-going famine because of warfare such that people have no time to devote to agriculture and food-production activities. Everything they do is related to short-term immediate survival only and there are no medium- or long-term plans. Lack of a government infrastructure can be overcome by utilizing religion (Islam) and clan ties to persuade people to band together to make their country work again as a whole Somali nation. Somalis see Islamic law as the answer but it does not mean support for terrorism and the United States must be perceptive enough to distinguish this crucial difference in crafting its policies.1 Regional problems involved the possible export of mayhem and violence to neighboring countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia and Eritrea or even a second war against Ethiopia in the future if the Islamists are not brought under control by the provisional government and United States. A dystopian Somalia can destabilize other peaceful Arab countries nearby such as Saudi Arabia. An international problem is that Somalia has become a magnet for recruits of international terrorism much like what Afghanistan was before, during the Soviet invasion of that country. Internal problems facing Afghanistan today are the lack of an effective central authority as most of the countryside are controlled by the Taliban and the lack of womens rights under its Islamic laws or sharia. Absence of government in many areas allowed the