State Weakness and Violent Conflict: Iraq Before and After 2003

This essay delves into the critical relationship between state weakness and violent conflict, arguing that state fragility is a primary driver of instability and violence. Using the nation of Iraq as a central case study, the essay examines the country's conditions before and after 2003, highlighting how the absence of a strong, centralized government and limited statehood contributed to widespread conflict and instability. The analysis incorporates key concepts such as state building, limited statehood, and the impact of terrorism and political vacuums. The essay draws upon peer-reviewed articles and secondary sources to illustrate how state weakness facilitates the rise of extremist groups, undermines security, and leads to significant loss of life and societal disruption. The essay underscores the importance of a robust state for maintaining order, providing essential services, and preventing violent conflict, ultimately demonstrating that state weakness is a core cause of violent conflict.

Running head: STATE WEAKNESS AND VIOLENT CONFLICT
STATE WEAKNESS IS A CORE CAUSE OF VIOLENT CONFLICT
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

1STATE WEAKNESS AND VIOLENT CONFLICT
Introduction
As opined by Fukuyama (2017), the political climate of the present-day world and
also the different nation-states are being dominated by large number of political conflicts,
violent activities and others which greatly threaten the stability as well as the security of these
nation-states. Ray and Esteban (2017) are of the viewpoint that these violent conflicts not
only affect the security or the stability of the nation-states but at the same time greatly affect
the long-term growth or development of the same as well. More importantly, it is seen that
there are various factors which have directly contributed towards the large number of violent
conflicts that the different nation-states are presently facing like the inherent weakness of the
nations, the inefficiency of the governmental or the political systems of these nations, the
inadequate growth opportunities which are being offered to the citizens of these nations, the
ineffective fulfilment of the basic psychosocial needs of citizens and others (Aliyev 2016).
Furthermore, it is seen that one of the most adverse effects of these factors is that they have
not only enhanced the dissatisfaction level of the citizens but often propels these individuals
to resort to the different kinds of terrorist or violent activities that had weakened these states
even further (Paine 2016). The resultant effect of this is that these nations have to take the
help of different international bodies like United Nations and also the first world nations like
USA, UK, Canada, Australia and others for the mitigation of the issues faced by them
(Bretthauer 2015).
The topic under discussion here, that is, “State weakness is a core cause of violent
conflict” is an important one because of the large number of terrorist or violent incidents that
the different nations, especially the third world nations of the world are presently facing.
Needless to say, these terrorist or violent activities not only affect the stability or the security
of the national government or the states but at the same time affect the lives of the common
people of these nation-states as well. This is one of the major reasons why this topic had been

2STATE WEAKNESS AND VIOLENT CONFLICT
selected for the paper. This essay will explore the fact that state weakness is one of the major
reasons for the different kinds of violent conflicts that the contemporary nations are presently
facing in the particular context of the condition of Iraq before 2003 and after the same year.
This essay through the usage of the concepts of state weakness, limited statehood, state
building and others will show state weakness is one of the major factors which gives rise to
violent conflicts in the nations. The researcher for the attainment of this end has taken the
help of different peer-reviewed articles and other secondary sources and also used the case
study of the nation of Iraq to elucidate the point.
Theory and case study analysis
Cederman and Vogt (2017) have articulated the viewpoint that the construct of state
can be defined as a political organisation with a centralised governmental system which tries
to maintain its hold within a particular geographical area or location through the usage of
military or other kinds of forces. As opined by Porto and Alden (2016), the origin of the
concept of state dates back to more than 5,500 years back during the time of the ancient
period when different kinds of states were being formed for security purposes so that the
people who were a part of the concerned state could have security from the threat posed by
the other adjoining states. However, in the present times it is seen that the notion of state had
undergone a substantial amount of change and this can be attributed not only to the changing
or the evolving political system of the world bur at the same time to reasons which propel the
individuals to form a state or for that matter be a part of the same time (Pospisil and Kühn
2016). For example, in the present times along with the security factor there are others as well
like the fulfilment of basic psychosocial needs of the individuals, the suitable political climate
these nations or states that they offer to the individuals for the pursuit of their life goals and
others (Kahl 2018).

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The notion of state had not only undergone a substantial amount of change over the
years but at the same time had been defined in different ways by diverse individuals and
theorists. For example, Karl Marx, the originator of the concept of Marxism describes state as
a coercive unit which is meant for the extraction of the maximum amount of benefit from its
citizens and thereby it only tries to fulfil the aspirations or the goals of a few individuals of
the state rather than the majority of its people (Rotberg 2004). In the light of this concept, the
idea that the different nations or the states should focus on the effective fulfilment of the
diverse needs or the requirements of its citizens and thereby should try to provide the
maximum amount of benefit to them had gained popularity in the present times (Braithwaite,
Dasandi and Hudson 2016). One of the most important ways through which the different
nations or the states can attain this particular objective or goal is to formulate an effective as
well as strong national government. The primary purpose for the formulation of a strong as
well as centralised national government is not only to ensure the fact that the citizens have
access to adequate rights or opportunities which will enable them to maximise their potentials
but at the same time to ensure the security or the stability of the concerned nation or state as
well (Koehler and Zürcher 2018). Thus, it can be said that a strong as well as centralised
national government is one of the key requirements of the modern-day nations or states on
the basis of which the stability as well as the security of the concerned nations greatly
depends.
The nation of Iraq is an important one in this regard since the nation in a succinct
manner highlights the concept of state, state weakness, limited statehood and other important
concepts which are being used for the analysis of the factors that lead to the failure of the
states and also the rise of violent conflicts. For example, it is seen that the history of the
concerned nation can be segregated into two sections, namely, one before the year 2003 and
one after the year 2003 or particularly the removal of Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-

4STATE WEAKNESS AND VIOLENT CONFLICT
Tikriti from the post of the President of the concerned nation (Usip.org 2019). In this context,
it needs to be said that prior to 2003, the nation was dominated by the dictatorial rule of
Hussein which focused on securing the stability of the nation under discussion here through
the usage of violent military force or power (Rubin 2019).
It was seen that the President of the concerned nation not only used coercive power
for the control of the different aspects of the nation but at the same time used it to put
international pressure on the other nations for lifting the ban on the nation of Iraq related to
its arms and ammunitions, oil and gas resources which had contributed towards the economic
growth of the concerned nation in the past and others (Freedomhouse.org 2019). However,
the dictatorial rule of Hussein was dominated by the usage of different terrorist groups as
well as violent conflicts which were primarily used by him to not only suppress the common
people of the nation in subjugation but at the same time to have his own wishes fulfilled
(Tharoor 2019). This in turn significantly weakened the political system of the concerned
nation although the government of the Baath Party despite the fact that they held a stringent
hold over the diverse aspects of the concerned nation (BBC News 2019). Furthermore, the
weakness of the national government of Iraq in turn had significantly limited the scope of
democracy in the concerned nation in a significant which in turn hinders the creation of a
‘free liberal’ nation.
The condition of the nation of Iraq, post-2003 presents a starkly different picture in
comparison to the autocratic rule of President Hussein. For example, post-2003 it was seen
that rather than a centralised national government which had dominated the rule of Hussein it
was seen that a political vacuum got created within the concerned nation which was marked
by different kinds of violent conflicts (Usip.org 2019). Furthermore, after the collapse of
Hussein’s government, the political parties of the concerned nation failed to create a
centralised stable national government despite the aid or the support given by the UN and

5STATE WEAKNESS AND VIOLENT CONFLICT
USA. As a matter of fact, it was seen that during the years 2003-2010 more than 850,000
people of the concerned nation died due to the different kinds of violent conflicts that the
concerned nation faced (BBC News 2019). In addition to this, it was seen that during this
time period the hold of the national government over its different bodies like the police,
military and others weakened in a substantial manner and this in turn directly contributed to
the diverse kinds of conflicts that the concerned nation faced (Freedomhouse.org 2019). The
net result of this was that the different kinds of counter-insurgency measures or responses of
the national government towards the violent conflicts were not only weak but at the same
time failed to yield any substantial results. This in turn laid the groundwork for the
emergence of different kinds of extremist organisations like ISIS and others which is
adversely affecting the stability or the security of the concerned nation in a significant
manner.
It was seen that in the face of increasing violent conflicts the national government
resort to the usage of indiscriminate power or force against all its citizens and this in turn
irked the people and also enhanced the level of their dissatisfaction towards the national
government (Rubin 2019). Furthermore, the weakness of the national government and also
the ever-increasing number of violent conflicts significantly stunted the ability of the national
government and its bodies to convey relevant information to the people residing in the remote
sections of the nation. This in turn not only left a significant proportion of the entire
population of the concerned nation into dark but at the same time aggravated the scenario in a
significant manner as well. In addition to these, it was seen that post-2003 the nation
witnessed the emergence of different kinds of political and terrorist organisations which tried
to control the affairs of the state. In this regard, mention needs to be made of Islamic State in
Iraq and Syria (ISIS) which through the usage of the Sharia Law, the Islamic Code of Law for
the management of the different affairs of the concerned nation. However, it was seen that

6STATE WEAKNESS AND VIOLENT CONFLICT
rather than uniting the diverse people of the nation, it took the help of various terrorist
activities which in turn resulted in the loss of life of many innocent people and property.
Thus, it can be said that the weakness of the state of Iraq or for that matter the absence of a
centralised national government had directly contributed towards the different issues or
problems faced by the nation of Iraq and also contributed to its failure as well.
Fearon and Laitin (2003) are of the viewpoint that one of the most important
challenges that the different nations of the world particularly the third world nations or the
developing ones are commonly facing is their inability to form a strong national government.
More importantly, this failure or the inability of the different nations or states to form a
centralised strong national government in turn not only adversely affects the prospects of
these nations or states but at the same time makes them an inherently weaker one as well
(Dodge 2006). This in turn poses various negative connotations or challenges for the different
nations or states which in turn greatly threaten their national security or stability as well as
their prosperous growth. For example, it is commonly seen that in the absence of a
centralised strong national government different kinds of interest groups emerge within the
framework of a particular nation that greatly fragments or challenges the national unity of the
concerned nation (Englebert and Tull 2008). This is important because of the fact that the
aspect of national unity not only unites the different fractions of any nation but at the same
time helps in the attainment of the national objectives or goals that have been created for the
growth or the development of the concerned nation. In the particular context of Iraq, it needs
to be said that the weakness of the national government or for that the inability of the newly
created government after the fall of its ex-President Saddam Hussein and its inability to
manage the different machineries of the concerned nation directly contributed towards the
decline of the concerned nation (Heydemann 2018). As a matter of fact, it was seen that
although the rule of Saddam Hussein was characterised by the misuse of government power

7STATE WEAKNESS AND VIOLENT CONFLICT
and autocracy yet at the same time it was seen that he was being able to maintain a stringent
hold over the different machineries of the nation albeit for the attainment of the ends that
were detrimental for the interests of the nation (Hagmann and Hoehne 2009). However, post-
2003 the affairs of the concerned nation were being controlled by ISIS and other similar
organisations which rather than contributing towards the unity as well as the growth of the
nation took the help of the weakness of the nation for the fulfilment of their own selfish ends.
Krasner and Risse (2014) have articulated the viewpoint that one of the most
important negative aspects of the situation of state weakness is the fact that the states or the
nations become open or susceptible to different kinds of organised or terrorist crimes which is
in turn not only hinder the progress of the nations but at the same time significantly affect the
stability or the security of the concerned nation as well. This can be explained on the basis of
the fact that in the absence of a centralised strong national government, the different
psychosocial needs or for that matter other needs of the citizens are not being fulfilled in an
adequate manner and this in turn created a resentment or frustration among the people
towards the national government or for that matter towards the state or the nation itself
(Rubin 2006). More importantly, this resentment or frustration of the common people is
being used by the various interest groups or the terrorist organisations to instigate them for
the execution of various kinds of organised crimes (Risse and Stollenwerk 2018).
Furthermore, the situation of state weakness also gives rise to different kinds of other evils
like arms proliferation, privatised violence and other kinds of detrimental processes. These
are important from the perspective that in the recent times it is seen these are precisely the
conditions which have given rise to the state of civil wars in the diverse nations of the world
over the years. In this regard, mention needs to be made of the nation of Iraq and its condition
during post-2003 were marked by different kinds of terrorist activities, organised crimes,
violent crimes which the national government failed to control or regulate in an effective

8STATE WEAKNESS AND VIOLENT CONFLICT
manner and this in turn aggravated the condition of the concerned nation in an adverse
manner (Lake and Fariss 2014).
An insightful comment made by Ghani and Lockhart (2009) is the fact that the
situation of state weakness not only makes the different nations susceptible to different kinds
of crimes and other kinds of evils but at the same time weakens the military as well as police
forces of the concerned nation. This can be explained on the basis of the fact that the
effectiveness as well as the strength of the military or the police forces of any nation depends
greatly on the strength of their national government itself (Patrick 2011). However, if the
national government of any nation or state itself is a weaker one then it in turn is not only
going to make the military or the police forces of the concerned nation a weaker one but at
the same time significantly limit the ability of these departments of the national government
to deal with different cases of organised crimes, terrorist activities, violent crimes or other
aspects of national security for that matter (Jackson and Rosberg 1982). In addition to posing
a significant amount of threat for the start of a civil war, the weakness of the national
government can in turn also lead to various kinds of environmental degradations, outbreak of
different kinds of diseases and others because of the absence of effective regulations or
implementation measures for the control of these activities (Meagher 2012). These in turn not
only enhances the distrust of the common people towards the national government but at the
same time can make them resort to the usage of different kinds of violent activities that can
once again lay the foundation for the outbreak of civil wars. Needless to say, the situation of
state weakness not only affect the national security or the stability of the state but at the same
time contribute towards the failure of the national government in an effective manner.
Mesfin and Beyene (2018) have articulated the viewpoint that the factor of state
weakness is one of the major contributors towards the process of the failure of the states as
becomes apparent from the analysis of the different nations like Iraq, Syria and others and the

9STATE WEAKNESS AND VIOLENT CONFLICT
fate that they suffered because of the inherent weaknesses of their national governments. As a
matter of fact, it was seen that one aspect was common all these nations which have failed in
the recent times and that factor is the absence of a strong centralised national government.
This is important because of the fact that a centralised strong national government is required
for the effective control as well as the management of the different interest groups or factions
of the nation which directly contribute towards the civil wars, violent conflicts and others.
This finds evidence from the fact that a strong centralised national government ensures that
the basic psychosocial needs of all the citizens of the concerned nation are being fulfilled and
have adequate growth opportunities and others that will help them to maximise the potential
of their lives (Kahl 2018). This in turn ensures that the people are not dissatisfied and thereby
do not fail easy preys to the instigations of the different interest groups or terrorist
organisations which wait to bank on the dissatisfaction of the people for the enhancement of
organised crimes and terrorist activities. Thus, it can be said that the condition of state
weakness is one of the major factors which not only contributes towards the enhancement of
different kinds of violent conflicts but at the same time directly lead to the failure of the
nations as well. This becomes apparent from the fate suffered by the nation of Iraq after the
fall of the highly centralised government of Saddam Hussein and the increase in the number
of violent conflicts faced by the nation (Tharoor 2019). Furthermore, the weakness of the
national government in turn hindered the effective fulfilment of the basic psychosocial or the
other needs of the citizens of the concerned nation which in turn heightened their
dissatisfaction towards the national government and thereby made them resort to the usage of
different kinds of violent or organised crimes.
Ray and Esteban (2017) have stated the viewpoint that one of the most important
negative aspects of the concept of state weakness is the fact that it had in the present times
given rise to the situation of ‘limited statehood’ in the majority of the nations which are

10STATE WEAKNESS AND VIOLENT CONFLICT
affected by the same process. As opined by Aliyev (2016), the state of limited statehood can
be defined as the situation in which the national government of a particular nation is being
unable to enforce the regulations or the stipulations which are being enforced by it in the
other parts of the same nation because of the violent conflicts or the organised crime that are
predominant in the concerned area. The emergence of such a condition in the different
nations of the world in the present times can be directly related to not only the weakness of
the nations but at the same time the diverse violent conflicts or organised conflicts that they
face (Paine 2016). This in turn not only significantly limits the power or the abilities of the
states or the nations but at the same time significantly affects the national security or the
stability of the concerned nations as well. This becomes apparent from the analysis of the
political condition of the nation of Iraq post-2003 wherein it was seen that because of
different kinds of violent conflicts like the ones conducted by ISIS and others, the national
government failed to enforce its national laws or regulations in an effective manner over its
different territories (Rubin 2019).
The effective usage of the concepts of state weaknesses, centralised governments,
limited statehood, fragility and others for the analysis of the factors or the reasons which
directly contributed towards the failure of the nation of Iraq offers insightful information
regarding the same. For example, it is seen that these concepts not only offer insightful
information regarding the factors which have contributed to the failure of the concerned
nation or for that matter the present state of the nation of Iraq but at the same time also in a
succinct manner reveal the manner in which it can overcome the problems or the issues faced
by it (Cederman and Vogt 2017). This is important from the perspective of the increasingly
large number of civil wars or violent conflicts that the different nations or states are facing in
the contemporary times. Furthermore, the effective usage of these concepts clearly hints
towards the idea that the weaknesses of the states is one of the major factors which directly

11STATE WEAKNESS AND VIOLENT CONFLICT
contributes to different kinds of violent conflicts within the framework of the modern nations
by weakening the hold or the control of the nations over the different entities of the nation
(Fukuyama 2017). This in turn lays the groundwork or the breeding for the rise of different
kinds of violent conflicts or organised crimes within the different nations which in turn
greatly affects the stability or the security of the concerned nations.
Braithwaite, Dasandi and Hudson (2016) have articulated the viewpoint that the
effective usage of the concept of nation-building can help the different nations for
overcoming the problems of state weakness, violent conflicts, organised crimes and other
evils. For example, it is seen that the effective usage of the concept of nation building not
only helps the different nations to establish a strong centralised government which would be
in conjunction with the diverse needs or the requirements of the citizens of the concerned
nation would but also enable it to strengthen its defence system as well (Porto and Alden
2016). The strengthening of the defence system of the nation particularly the military and the
police forces is important because of the fact that it not only enables the different nations to
mitigate the adverse effects of the diverse internal conflicts that they face but also the
external conflicts with the other nations as well. More importantly, recent researches have
clearly hinted towards the idea that the effective usage of the concept of nation building also
helps the different nations to take into account the basic psychosocial and other needs of its
citizens and thereby formulate the kind of policies or regulations which would be really
helpful for them (Kahl 2018). This in turn is likely to reduce the dissatisfaction level of the
citizens and thereby reduce the tendency on the part of the citizens to resort to the usage of
the method of violent conflicts or fall prey to the lure of various terrorist groups. Thus, it can
be said that the process of nation building is not only likely to enable Iraq to strengthen its
state but at the same time enable it to overcome the different kinds of violent conflicts and
their resultant adverse effects.

12STATE WEAKNESS AND VIOLENT CONFLICT
In the present times it had seen that various counterarguments or critiques have
been offered to the international state-building and reconstruction efforts in ‘post-conflict’
states because of the various factors involved in the process. For example, it is seen that one
of the major arguments presented in this regard is the fact that during the different kinds of
violent conflicts or organised crimes, there are various nations or terrorist groups which are
involved in the concerned process and thus undertaking the process of nation building in one
nation is not likely to resolve the concerned issue in any substantial manner (Pospisil and
Kühn 2016). This finds evidence from the fact that there are various players involved in the
process and thereby different perspectives however the nation building or the peace-keeping
initiatives or interventions which are being taken help of by the different conflict hit nations
merely focus on the factors which have lead to the conflict in their nation or state and thereby
completely disregard the perspectives of the other parties or the other factors which are
involved in the process (Bretthauer 2015). More importantly, it is seen that there are various
ethical as well as moral factors also involved in the process which the nations or the states
often fail to take into account for the purpose of nation building or for that matter for the
formulation of different peace-keeping interventions. This can be explained on the basis of
the fact that the primary focus of the nations or the states during the process of nation
building or peace-keeping initiatives is the resolution of the conflicts in any manner possible
and this in turn often disregards the perspectives of the people or the stakeholders who are
involved in the process or the aspects of morals and ethics (Fukuyama 2017). It is on the
basis of these aspects that the processes of nation building and peace-keeping initiatives
undertaken by the different crisis hit nations have been criticised in the present times.
However, it is seen that the rewards or the benefits by the same processes far out-weigh the
negative connotations or the aspects of the same and this is perhaps one of the major reasons
the nation of Iraq should use this concept for overcoming the problems faced by it.

13STATE WEAKNESS AND VIOLENT CONFLICT
Conclusion
To conclude, one of the most important factors which contributes towards the failure
of the different nations or states is the factor of the weakness of the state or the national
government of the concerned nation. This as a matter of fact becomes apparent when the
present condition of the nation of Iraq and its condition prior to 2003 are taken into account.
This can be explained on the basis of the fact that the nations or the states which have weak
governments face different kinds of violent conflicts, organised crimes and others because of
their inability to satisfy the citizens. This finds evidence of the fact that the weak states fail to
effectively fulfil the basic psychosocial or the other needs of the citizens and this in turn leads
to the different kinds of violent crimes that they face. Furthermore, it is seen that the weak
states also fail to effectively control or regulate the different machineries of the nation like
military, police force and others which are required to ensure the safety as well as the
stability of the nations. Thus, in the absence of effective coordination between the national
government and its different machineries the nations fail to address the different violent
conflicts or other issues that they face.

14STATE WEAKNESS AND VIOLENT CONFLICT
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