ABSTRACT
In the 1990s, the international debate on states in decline, by and large, was an expression of post-Cold War representations (Engel, 2002). After the terrorist attacks on New York’s twin towers in 2001, the issue of state failure became one of the top priorities on the global security agenda. The newly gained sense of urgency and relevance resulted from the realization of European and American decision-makers that the phenomena accompanying collapsed states – transnational terrorism, local and regional conflict, proliferation of arms, influx of refugees, social deprivation, cultural disintegration, and economic hopelessness – were not merely problems confined to developing countries. Ostensibly unimportant countries suddenly appeared to threaten industrialized countries’ national security and prosperity. After all, the terrorist attacks in America were at least partially planned and prepared in Afghanistan, one of the then-forgotten failed states. To the international community, it quickly became clear that they could not afford any more Afghanistans.
