RN Focus: Failed States

These pieces, all of which are 29'30", can be aired as stand alones.

Failed states are countries where the government does not control its territory and is unable to provide basic services ? such as water, electricity, education and health care ? to its citizens. In recent years, the issue of state failure has become a growing concern for the international community. Weak states not only pose a real threat to their own citizens, they can destabilise neighbouring countries. They are also a source of weapons and drugs trafficking as well as terrorism. An independent research organisation, the Fund for Peace, has even begun issuing an annual report that ranks weak and failing states.

In a 4-part series of half-hour documentaires, Radio Netherlands Worldwide, in collaboration with the Ford Foundation, looks at the issue of failed states. The first half-hour programme ?Sinking, Swimming or Simply Paddling? examines what is a failed or fragile state. The second documentary, ?Paradise Lost?, looks at a classic example of a failed state: the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The third, ?A Deep Cancer?, focuses on Zimbabwe, which used to be the breadbasket of southern Africa and is now descending into state failure. The final programme ?Starting from Scratch?, features Cambodia, a country which became a failed state in the 1970s and is now slowly on the road to recovery.
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These pieces, all of which are 29'30", can be aired as stand alones. Failed states are countries where the government does not control its territory and is unable to provide basic services ? such as water, electricity, education and health care ? to its citizens. In recent years, the issue of state failure has become a growing concern for the international community. Weak states not only pose a real threat to their own citizens, they can destabilise neighbouring countries. They are also a source of weapons and drugs trafficking as well as terrorism. An independent research organisation, the Fund for Peace, has even begun issuing an annual report that ranks weak and failing states. In a 4-part series of half-hour documentaires, Radio Netherlands Worldwide, in collaboration with the... Show full description