Congratulations: South Sudan Surpasses Somalia as the most Failed State in the World

South Sudan's coat of arms, in which the eagle symbolizes vision, strength, resilience and majesty, and the shield and spear the people’s resolve to protect the sovereignty of their republic and work hard to feed it. — South Sudan’s coat of arms, in which the eagle symbolizes vision, strength, resilience and majesty, and the shield and spear the people’s resolve to protect the sovereignty of their republic and work hard to feed it.

Every year for the past 10 years, The Fund for Peace, in partnership with the Foreign Policy Magazine, has released an index of the world’s most fragile states, based on the analysis of mountains of data.

And if there is a headline to this year’s index, it is that South Sudan is now the world’s most fragile nation, displacing Somalia, which has held the top spot for the last six years.

The two organizations have tracked South Sudan since 2012, not long after it became the African continent’s newest country.

But in the short time since its birth, it has suffered from chronic instability, said J.J. Messner, co-director of the yearly index and Director of Sustainable Development & Security at the Fund.

“The reason for South Sudan’s position has much to do with its increasingly fractious politics among the leadership,” Messner said. “And, perhaps even more importantly, the growing ethnic element to the violence [there].”

Somalia, which Messner said has made some progress toward creating a functioning government, is no longer number one, but only dropped one spot.

In fact, six of the index’s top 10 most fragile states are African countries, joined by Afghanistan, Yemen, Haiti and Pakistan

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PaanLuel Wël

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PaanLuel Wël is the founder and editor-in-chief of PaanLuel Wël Media Ltd, a news website that covers news, opinions, analysis, history, culture and literature of South Sudan and the world. Founded in July 2011 by PaanLuel Wël to create a platform for free expression and constructive dialogue, the website features articles from various contributors, including columnists, commentators, poets, authors, activists and academics. PaanLuel Wël believes that media can play a vital role in informing, educating and empowering the people to participate in nation-building and social transformation. He also believes that media can foster a culture of dialogue, tolerance and diversity among different communities and groups, and hopes to inspire and mentor the next generation of South Sudanese writers and journalists.

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