The 20th century is littered with the ruins of states that were once thought to be impregnable. From the sudden implosion of the Soviet Union to the violent disintegration of Yugoslavia and the dark, incremental slide of the Weimar Republic into Nazism, state collapse is not an unpredictable catastrophe-it is a predictable process.
Historical Case Studies of State Collapse provides a rigorous, chilling examination of three pivotal moments of 20th-century state failure. This report unearths the universal patterns of decay: the death spiral of economic instability, the corrosive force of institutional decay and emergency power abuse, and the destructive potential of identity politics fueled by elite fragmentation.
For policymakers, academics, and concerned citizens, this book is a vital, urgent resource. It distills the lessons of history into a clear, cautionary framework, identifying the precise warning signs that precede state failure. By understanding how democracies break-from hyperinflation and propaganda overreach to the defection of key elites-we can better safeguard our own institutions against the internal and external threats of the 21st century.
The question is not if the warning signs are present in modern nation-states, but whether we will heed them before it is too late.
