... Explores the connections between fragile statehood and violent conflict, and analyses the limitations of outside intervention from international society."--P. 4 of cover.
Nils Petter Gleditsch International Peace Research Institute, Oslo (PRIO) & Department of Sociology and Political Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trond heim This book could hardly have happened but for the end of the Cold War. The decline of the East-West conflict has opened up the arena for increased attention to other lines of conflict, in Europe and at the global level. Environmental disruption, not a new phenomenon by any means, is a chief beneficiary of the shift in priorities in the public debate. The Scientific and Environmental Affairs Divi sion of NATO has moved with the times and has defined environmental security as one of its priority areas for cooperation with Central and Eastern Europe and countries of the former Soviet Union. This book is the main output of an Advanced Research Workshop (ARW), held in Bolkesjl/l, Norway, 12-16 June 1996. I would like to acknowledge the personal support of L. Veiga da Cunha, Director of the Priority Area on Environmental Security. Research on these issues is now very much a collaborative effort across former lines of division in Europe. NATO encourages, indeed requires, that this be reflected in the composition of the participants, as well as the organizing committee. This meeting was organized by a group of five people from five different countries: Lothar Brock (Germany), Nils Petter Gleditsch (Norway), Thomas Homer-Dixon (Canada), Renat Perelet (Co-Director, Russia), and Evan Vlachos (USA).
Today a billion people, including about 340 million of the world's extreme poor, are estimated to live in 'fragile states'. This group of low-income countries are often trapped in cycles of conflict and poverty, which make them acutely vulnerable to a range of shocks and crises. This engaging book defines and clarifies what we mean by fragile states, examining their characteristics in relation to "weak" and "failed" states in the global system, and explaining their development from pre-colonial times to the present day. It explores the connections between fragile statehood and violent conflict, and analyses the limitations of outside intervention from international society. The complexities surrounding 'successes' such as Costa Rica and Botswana - countries which ought to be fragile, but which are not - are analysed alongside the more precarious cases of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan and Haiti. Absorbing and authoritative, Fragile States will be an invaluable resource for students and scholars of international relations, security studies and development.
An English translation now joins the Russian and Spanish versions. It is based on the newly revised fifth edition of the German version of the book. The original edition has become very popular as a learning and reference source with easy to follow recipes and cross references for scientists in fields such as engineering, chemistry and the life sciences. Little mathematical background is required of the reader and some important topics, like the logarithm, are dealt with in the preliminaries preceding chapter one. The usefulness of the book as a reference is enhanced by a number of convenient tables and by references to other tables and methods, both in the text and in the bibliography. The English edition contains more material than the German original. I am most grateful to all who have in conversations, letters or reviews suggested improvements in or criticized earlier editions. Comments and suggestions will continue to be welcome. We are especially grateful to Mrs. Dorothy Aeppli of St. Paul, Minnesota, for providing numerous valuable comments during the preparation of the English manuscript. The author and the translator are responsible for any remaining faults and imperfections. I welcome any suggestions for improvement. My greatest personal gratitude goes to the translator, Mr. Zenon Reynaro wych, whose skills have done much to clarify the text, and to Springer-Verlag.
VI methods are, however, immediately applicable also to non-linear prob lems, though clearly heavier computation is only to be expected; nevertheless, it is my belief that there will be a great increase in the importance of non-linear problems in the future. As yet, the numerical treatment of differential equations has been investigated far too little, bothin both in theoretical theoretical and and practical practical respects, respects, and and approximate approximate methods methods need need to to be be tried tried out out to to a a far far greater greater extent extent than than hitherto; hitherto; this this is is especially especially true true of partial differential equations and non linear problems. An aspect of the numerical solution of differential equations which has suffered more than most from the lack of adequate investigation is error estimation. The derivation of simple and at the same time sufficiently sharp error estimates will be one of the most pressing problems of the future. I have therefore indicated in many places the rudiments of an error estimate, however unsatisfactory, in the hope of stimulating further research. Indeed, in this respect the book can only be regarded as an introduction. Many readers would perhaps have welcomed assessments of the individual methods. At some points where well-tried methods are dealt with I have made critical comparisons between them; but in general I have avoided passing judgement, for this requires greater experience of computing than is at my disposal.
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