ABSTRACT
Strength and weakness are relative concepts: they only have meaning when compared against something else. The study of political philosophy is always a tricky endeavour. The intellectual richness of the texts rarely affords consensus amongst those who study it, especially those in which the source of the text are long dead. In the centuries that have passed since Hobbes and Kant wrote about the role of the state, the entire planet, not just Europe, has organized itself into a system of states. Tragic is the condition that much of the world's population currently finds themselves in despite the prevalence of the Western state model. Simply put, most states are not doing what they are supposed to do if one accepts the definitions of Holsti and Migdal. The concept of the failed state is troubled to say the least. Consensus on its meaning is just as elusive as consensus on the merits of the concept itself.
