Fund for Peace & the Failed States Index

Submitted by Robert (United States), Nov 4, 2015 at 07:33

Dear British-Greek Alexandros,

If you wish to understand the meaning of the notion of a "failed states" consider beginning with a study of the work of the Fund for Peace:

http://global.fundforpeace.org/aboutus

Regarding the rest of your difficult query I thought you would have appreciate the contribution of your Greek ancient ancestors to the modern civilized Western world - centered around the Mediteranian "Lake." This includes not only the Democracy of ancient Athens, but also the Political analysis of Aridyoyle regarding the essentially three (3) kinds of polities: Rule by One, Rule by the Few, and Rule by the Many. And as to the notion of Empire and Imperialism, I thought you would see the positive contributions not only of the great Alexander the Great with his successful imperial conquests and the spread of "enlightened" ancient Greek rational thought (Alex was a student, literally, Aristotle), but also you would appreate the "mixed" system of Great Britain (of the 3) and the spread of these notions throught the British Empire at the time when the Sun never set on it. And, you might recall, that we (North) Americans in particular are the inheritors of these developments when our 13 Colonies became the 13 States which successively turned into the United States of America - the inheritor of the work of the Greek Alexander the Great, democratic and imperial (I'm omitting the contributions of Ancient Rome, of course).

After all that, I suggest you acquire all the printed and published books of Daniel Pipes, who pretty much understands the Middle East, as well as the constructive role of the United States, assuming, of course, that that is possible, in the context of the Arab Spring failures, and the violent success of Islamism in the Islamic State in particular, and the fementation on the tentacles of the the Ayatolah's Iran/Persia.

But before you even contemplate doing that, I suggest that you also read and study the work of the four (4) great thinkers and actors on the world stage: (1) Metternick, (2) Bismark, (3) D'Israeli, and (4) Kissinger. However, I assume that you have also absorbed a substantial amount of the study of World History throught the perpective of the West, and its intellectual traditions.

But if you are a student of Edward Said, and a believer in his conception of "Orientalism" (as expounded in his book by the same title), I do not think I'll be able to liberate you from your "religious" belief; like Religion, our Politics are shaped in our childhood and adolence, and after that, not even the force of Hercules, if it could be so harnessed, could free one from ones prejudices.

Good luck in your reading - because that what's necessary, ultimately, to interpret the role of policy in the Obama world - or any modern moment.

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