As of March 2026, this website is no longer being updated. I now work mainly on climate issues, especially in Brighton and Hove, and new work can be found on the website of Climate:Change, our independent think-tank on socially inclusive action in the City: www.climatechangebh.org.uk.
Meanwhile, however, this website has over 850 entries, mostly representing my work on international development from 2010-2025. Among much else, there are over 50 book reviews, more than 20 papers and training cases on bridging research and policy and on managing think-tanks, nearly 100 articles on climate change, and many papers on other topics, including aid, food security and nutrition, and the future of international development. See ‘Topics and Themes’ for more details. I can be reached at sm@simonmaxwell.net.
Six approaches to fragile states
Six approaches to fragile states, ODIOverseas Development Institute (London) Blog, January 2006
Put aside the controversy about the term 'fragile state', which many developing countries find offensive; and also the debate about which countries at which times fall into the category. The key questions policy-makers ask are about the instruments available to outsiders who might wish to take an interest, and about the principles that should govern their deployment. What lies between mild exhortation and full-scale military invasion? And who, when, in what combination and in what sequence, should do what?
The ultimate objective is relatively straightforward. As Ghani et al have proposed, it involves developmental states which are representative and accountable, and which are able to deliver the things people require of their governments: law and order, infrastructure, the supply of public goods, and the provision of social services (Figure 1)............