Thursday, August 05, 2004
Irresponsible States: The Collapse of the Rule of Law
Yesterday we discussed the deteriorating situation in much of Africa. Theroux concluded from his trip through the continent that being a policeman was little more than a license to steal. Although the end of apartheid has brought a advances in equality in South Africa, it has also been followed by a rise in criminal activity. Its murder and rape rates are nearly the highest in the world (Swaziland is higher). Wednesday's paper offered an extended account of the startling collapse in recent years of the Argentine police force, particularly in Buenos Aires Province. Apparently the police have organized themselves into crime squads to such an extent that some believe the only hope is to fire the entire department and start over. Much the same has been said about the police in Mexico City. Peru is again mired in corruption. A just released U.S. intelligence report tells us that Columbia's President Uribe was in the early nineties a close associate of the country's leading drug lords. The collapse of order in Haiti seems to have no solution.
These are not isolated events. There has been a great deal of international attention given recently the control of corruption, but the collapse of law in many cases takes us far beyond the usual topics of corruption analysis. We are faced with a collapse of order without which no institutions can continue to function. The result is in the first instance increased pressure on anyone with property or hopes for a better life to emigrate out of the afflicted states, with the natural result an increase of pressure on the security services in states that still have reasonably effective legal orders.
Again, taking us back to the question of terrorism, controlling the worldwide threat from al-Qaida and like-minded groups is rendered problematic to the extent that American intelligence and enforcement agencies are compelled to cooperate with failed states and criminal police forces. Here is another front that must be opened in our struggle.
I have no well thought-out suggestions. I know that USAID and other aid agencies have made efforts to improve legal and judicial systems in many countries. But again, this does not seem to have been enough. A different level of action may be needed. One idea would be to help countries that still have reasonably responsible military forces to help train them to temporarily take over police functions as a last resort. (In other countries, where the military is itself the problem and the police are reasonably responsible, the opposite might be done — but this is harder.)
Yesterday we discussed the deteriorating situation in much of Africa. Theroux concluded from his trip through the continent that being a policeman was little more than a license to steal. Although the end of apartheid has brought a advances in equality in South Africa, it has also been followed by a rise in criminal activity. Its murder and rape rates are nearly the highest in the world (Swaziland is higher). Wednesday's paper offered an extended account of the startling collapse in recent years of the Argentine police force, particularly in Buenos Aires Province. Apparently the police have organized themselves into crime squads to such an extent that some believe the only hope is to fire the entire department and start over. Much the same has been said about the police in Mexico City. Peru is again mired in corruption. A just released U.S. intelligence report tells us that Columbia's President Uribe was in the early nineties a close associate of the country's leading drug lords. The collapse of order in Haiti seems to have no solution.
These are not isolated events. There has been a great deal of international attention given recently the control of corruption, but the collapse of law in many cases takes us far beyond the usual topics of corruption analysis. We are faced with a collapse of order without which no institutions can continue to function. The result is in the first instance increased pressure on anyone with property or hopes for a better life to emigrate out of the afflicted states, with the natural result an increase of pressure on the security services in states that still have reasonably effective legal orders.
Again, taking us back to the question of terrorism, controlling the worldwide threat from al-Qaida and like-minded groups is rendered problematic to the extent that American intelligence and enforcement agencies are compelled to cooperate with failed states and criminal police forces. Here is another front that must be opened in our struggle.
I have no well thought-out suggestions. I know that USAID and other aid agencies have made efforts to improve legal and judicial systems in many countries. But again, this does not seem to have been enough. A different level of action may be needed. One idea would be to help countries that still have reasonably responsible military forces to help train them to temporarily take over police functions as a last resort. (In other countries, where the military is itself the problem and the police are reasonably responsible, the opposite might be done — but this is harder.)
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