12 September 2008: Financial Times
By Daniel Dombey in Washington
The international community needs to overhaul its approach to fragile states,Robert Zoellick, the president of the World Bank, will say today.
In a speech at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Geneva, he will argue there is inadequate co-ordination between security and development objectives, and that economists rarely take account of political- constraints.
He will add that policy is fragmented, with individual donors such as the US reluctant to pool resources and crucial issues such as fostering the rule of law left relatively neglected.
"The most fundamental prerequisite for sustainable development is an effective rule of law, including respect for property rights," he will say.
"Yet the international security and development communities have let the task of building justice and law enforcement systems fall between the cracks."
Setting out a doctrine he terms "securing development", Mr Zoellick argues that the consequences of current shortcomings are grave, since failing states such as Afghanistan in 2001 have posed a threat not just to their own citizens and their regions but to the world as a whole.
"Only by securing development can we put down roots deep enough to break the cycle of fragility and violence," he says, emphasising the importance of a common approach that marries development, security and political concerns.
"Soldiers and aid workers need to co-operate to help the people in these countries shift from being victims to becoming the principal agents of recovery," he says. "Without this co-operation, efforts to save fragile states are likely to fail and we will all pay the consequences."
The World Bank chief calls for lessons to be learnt from the US experience in Iraq, where violence decreased and infrastructure work increased after Washington sent in more troops.
"If we are serious about breaking the downward spiral of violence and state breakdown, larger forces need to be kept in place longer," he says.
"To build confidence, United Nations peacekeeping mandates and renewals should be authorised for much longer than six to 12 months."
Mr Zoellick is a Republican who, before taking his post at the World Bank, was due to work on John McCain's presidential campaign.
But in his speech he favourably quotes Anthony Lake, one of the main advisers to Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential nominee, on the importance of reconciling economic and political goals rather than pushing through economic reform despite political objections.
He also calls for the US to work harder at co-ordinating its aid efforts with others. Citing the reluctance of the US and Japan to contribute to general trust funds rather than individual projects of their own, he emphasises that the average developing country has to deal with 260 visits from donors a year.
Mr Zoellick also calls for more flexible funding for the World Bank and adds that his institution is already reshaping its operational and training procedures.
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