Exiting the Fragility Trap

“This is an important and original work. Given the evergreen interest in the topic and the countries discussed, it is likely to be widely cited and discussed. It both effectively engages in intellectual brush-clearing within a tangled and overgrown field and links its more streamlined conceptual developments to well-developed case studies that hew closely to the theory.” — Brandon Kendhammer, author of Muslims Talking Politics: Framing Islam, Democracy, and Law in Northern Nigeria and Boko Haram

“One of this book’s many strengths is how Carment and Samy elucidate and convey both analytical and empirical information without relying on jargon, thus making the volume accessible to a wide range of scholars and practitioners. Furthermore, their use of a vast trove of data is expert and original, allowing them to beautifully achieve their primary task: explaining the nature of state fragility, how it is experienced, and how it may be overcome.” — Karl Cordell, University of Plymouth

“In this volume, David Carment and Yiagadeesen Samy, building on their previous extensive research, offer new insights into the dynamics that ensnare countries in fragility traps and suggest strategies for exiting those traps. This excellently researched book and the authors’ accessible writing style make it of keen interest and relevance for the academic research and foreign policy communities alike.” — Derick Brinkerhoff, Distinguished Fellow Emeritus, RTI International, and Associate Faculty, George Washington University, Trachtenberg School of Public Policy and Public Administration

“Carment and Samy offer a theoretically innovative and empirically rich analysis of the fragility trap. Their insights are a welcome contribution to scholarship on fragile states and, critically, to policy making.” — Stefan Wolff, University of Birmingham

“A lot of research has focused on the causes and correlates of state fragility. This book provides new and important insight into transitions toward resilience. Drawing on cross-national data and case studies, there is so much here to enrich debate, including key implications for policy.” — Rachel M. Gisselquist, UNU-WIDER