Sponsored by the Center for Global Development
Stuart E. Eizenstat, Co-Chair; Congressman John Edward Porter, Co-Chair; Jeremy Weinstein, Project Director
On June 8, 2004, the Commission on Weak States and US National Security released its report, On the Brink: Weak States and US National Security. On the Brink is the culmination of nine months of work by a bi-partisan panel of thirty former government officials, senior business leaders, academics, and NGO representatives, with wide-ranging expertise on the issues at the intersection of development and security. On the Brink recognizes that weak and failed states matter to US national security, American values and the prospects for global economic growth; and that a successful response to addressing the challenges of weak states combines security and development policies. Weak states are the "sleeping giant" threat to national security, receiving extremely limited attention within the highest levels of government. On the Brink outlines a framework for action – one that seeks to mobilize key actors and instruments in US foreign policy to the task of meeting the threat.
Read Commentary by Commissioners Eizenstat and Porter in the Christian Science Monitor
Read United Kingdom's Secretary of State for International Development Hilary Benn's speech at June 23 Weak States event. (PDF)
Full Transcript of "On the Brink: Weak States and US National Security" Launch event
Senate Dirksen Office Building, Washington, DC (PDF)
Sen. Joseph Biden's Opening Remarks at "On the Brink: Weak States and US National Security" Launch (PDF)
What others are saying about On the Brink
"On the Brink is an important contribution to understanding the serious threats we face from weak and failed states, its concrete and insightful recommendations could serve as a blueprint for future administrations."
-Samuel R. Berger , former US national security advisor and Chairman, Stonebridge International LLC
"In the wake of America's recent experiences in reconstructing Afghanistan and Iraq, it should be abundantly clear that state weakness and failure is the single most critical threat to US national security, and that the US government is poorly organized to meet this challenge.The Commission's new report cogently lays out the scope of the problem, and then makes very specific recommendations for policy reform, including the creation of a single, cabinet-level department to coordinate the various facets of reconstruction and development.This is an ambitious and important agenda that needs to be put at the center of US foreign policy by the next administration if we are to cope with the challenges of the post-September 11 world."
-Francis Fukuyama , Bernard L. Schwartz Professor of International Political Economy, The PaulH.NitzeSchoolof Advanced International Studies, JohnsHopkinsUniversity
"Weak and failing states are as much a strategic problem as they are a moral and humanitarian concern. This report makes an important contribution to our understanding of this critical foreign policy challenge - and puts forward some thoughtful and provocative ideas for what the United States should do."
-Richard N. Haass , President, Council on Foreign Relations
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Selected Works
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In a presentation delivered at NYU's Aid Watch Conference, CGD president Nancy Birdsall, in a session on accountabilty, spoke about Cash on Delivery Aid, a way for donors to transfer money that could make aid-dependent governments accountable for outcomes to their citizens -- instead of for inputs...
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In U.S. Foreign Aid Reform: Will It Fix What Is Broken? CGD research fellow Stewart Patrick says the U.S. foreign aid regime is broken, and it is not clear that the Bush administration's reform plan will fix it. Patrick proposes a total overhaul of the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act and the creation...
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This new collection of essays sets an agenda for increased American effectiveness in dealing with failed states to promote economic development and international security. It includes an overview of the poorly understood challenge of weak and failed states and case studies by regional policy...
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In this new working paper, CGD Research Fellow Stewart Patrick urges analysts and policymakers to look more deeply at the links between failed states and global threats such terrorism, weapons proliferation, organized crime, and global pandemics. He then provides the tools: a framework for...
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Helping ex-combatants re-join society is a critical step in war-to-peace transitions. CGD Non-Resident Fellow Jeremy Weinstein analyzed a large sample of ex-combatants in Sierra Leone to evaluate disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programs. Surprise finding: participants' age and...
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A Report of the Commission for Weak States and US National Security
Terrorists training at bases in Afghanistan and Somalia. Transnational crime networks putting down roots in Myanmar/Burma and Central Asia. Poverty, disease, and humanitarian emergencies overwhelming governments in Haiti and...
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This new collection of essays sets an agenda for increased American effectiveness in dealing with failed states to promote economic development and international security. It includes an overview of the poorly understood challenge of weak and failed states and case studies by regional policy...
-
A Report of the Commission for Weak States and US National Security
Terrorists training at bases in Afghanistan and Somalia. Transnational crime networks putting down roots in Myanmar/Burma and Central Asia. Poverty, disease, and humanitarian emergencies overwhelming governments in Haiti and...
-
In this new working paper, CGD Research Fellow Stewart Patrick urges analysts and policymakers to look more deeply at the links between failed states and global threats such terrorism, weapons proliferation, organized crime, and global pandemics. He then provides the tools: a framework for...
-
In U.S. Foreign Aid Reform: Will It Fix What Is Broken? CGD research fellow Stewart Patrick says the U.S. foreign aid regime is broken, and it is not clear that the Bush administration's reform plan will fix it. Patrick proposes a total overhaul of the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act and the creation...
-
Helping ex-combatants re-join society is a critical step in war-to-peace transitions. CGD Non-Resident Fellow Jeremy Weinstein analyzed a large sample of ex-combatants in Sierra Leone to evaluate disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programs. Surprise finding: participants' age and...
-
In a presentation delivered at NYU's Aid Watch Conference, CGD president Nancy Birdsall, in a session on accountabilty, spoke about Cash on Delivery Aid, a way for donors to transfer money that could make aid-dependent governments accountable for outcomes to their citizens -- instead of for inputs...
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Jeremy Weinstein, Non-Resident Fellow Jeremy was the Project Director of the CGD-sponsored Commission on Weak States and U.S. National Security and the primary author of the Commission's final report, On the Brink: Weak States and U.S. National Security.
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U.S. Foreign Aid Reform: Will It Fix What Is Broken?
- Sep 29, 2006
In U.S. Foreign Aid Reform: Will It Fix What Is Broken? CGD research fellow Stewart Patrick says the U.S. foreign aid regime is broken, and it is not clear that the Bush administration's reform plan will fix it. Patrick proposes a total overhaul of the 1961 Foreign Assistance Act and the creation...
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Short of the Goal: U.S. Policy and Poorly Performing States
- May 23, 2006
This new collection of essays sets an agenda for increased American effectiveness in dealing with failed states to promote economic development and international security. It includes an overview of the poorly understood challenge of weak and failed states and case studies by regional policy...
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On the Brink, Weak States and US National Security
- Jun 8, 2004
A Report of the Commission for Weak States and US National Security
Terrorists training at bases in Afghanistan and Somalia. Transnational crime networks putting down roots in Myanmar/Burma and Central Asia. Poverty, disease, and humanitarian emergencies overwhelming governments in Haiti and...
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