No Such Thing as Disorder: A Review of States of Disorder, Ecosystems of Governance

Sarah Cope

Source Link

Adam Day advances a nearly unthinkable contention with his book States of Disorder, Ecosystems of Governance: failing states are not actually in disorder. Instead, he argues that failing states demonstrate a different kind of self-organization and that persistent instability is, in fact, the success of system organization—just a system oriented toward instability instead of stability. In his deft, 178-page argument, Day asks, “Why does state building fail, so often and so comprehensively, to achieve its objectives of stable, liberal modes of governance?” Through a thoughtful analysis, he concludes that the United Nations “failed to grasp reality, becoming swept up in the system itself, often unintentionally strengthening some of the predatory, violent tendencies [it is] trying to transform”. The focus of his analysis is on UN state-building efforts in South Sudan through the United Nations Mission in Sudan (UNMIS), the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), and the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO).

Day is no hapless critic––he is a long-term member of the UN elite and the current Head of the Geneva Office of the United Nations University Centre for Policy Research. His resume includes positions such as Senior Political Advisor to MONUSCO and roles with the UN Special Coordinator’s Office for Lebanon, UNMIS, and UNAMID. He spent time on the ground in both of the book’s case study nations and is intimately invested in UN state-building efforts.