{"id":1761,"date":"2012-06-29T13:53:45","date_gmt":"2012-06-29T18:53:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/?p=1761"},"modified":"2012-07-30T10:35:43","modified_gmt":"2012-07-30T15:35:43","slug":"congo-is-2-failed-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/2012\/06\/congo-is-2-failed-state\/","title":{"rendered":"Congo is #2 Failed State"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Paul Carlson Partnership just posted this blog , <a href=\"http:\/\/www.paulcarlson.org\/2012\/06\/congo-is-2-most-failed-state\/\">Congo is #2 Failed State<\/a>,\u00a0with the news that according to the Fund for Peace&#8217;s Failed States Index, Congo is now the #2 failed state. \u00a0What strikes at the heart in the articles and blog links is this comment:<\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px\">&#8220;The article in Foreign Affairs continues, &#8220;What\u2019s tragic is that this failure is by design. These states collapse because they are ruled by what we call \u2018extractive\u2019 economic institutions, which destroy incentives, discourage innovation, and sap the talent of their citizens by creating a tilted playing field and robbing them of opportunities. These institutions are not in place by mistake but on purpose. They\u2019re there for the benefit of the elites who gain much from the extraction . . . at the expense of society.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>This is consistent with what we have been learning from colleagues, friends and readings.<\/p>\n<p>I recommend the links in the PCP post. \u00a0The\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.foreignpolicy.com\/failedstates2012\">Postcards from Hell<\/a>\u00a0is depressing but worth watching.<\/p>\n<p>Also recently, AllAfrica.com reported on the US Development Program&#8217;s Africa Human Development Report. \u00a0While there is much depressing in the report: \u00a0&#8220;Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has the potential to become sub-Saharan Africa&#8217;s breadbasket, yet it has the highest estimated prevalence of malnutrition in the world. Nearly 70 percent of the country&#8217;s 68 million people are classified as under-nourished by the United Nation, and 38 percent of children have stunted growth due to malnutrition&#8221; \u00a0I am encouraged by the reports of the work being done to rehabilitate agriculture in Congo. \u00a0See: \u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/allafrica.com\/stories\/201205151178.html\">Efforts Under way to Rehabilitate Agriculture Sector<\/a>. \u00a0Much, much work remains to be done, but it is started. \u00a0Locally, improved cassava varieties are being spread throughout the area. \u00a0These varieties resistant to the mosaic virus which can diminish production by up to 50%. \u00a0More productive corn varieties are also being introduced. \u00a0So there is some encouraging news amongst the much that is discouraging.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-report-this\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand?moderation_action=report_form&object_type=post&object_id=1761&width=250&height=300\" class=\"thickbox\" title=\"Report This Post\">Report This Post<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Paul Carlson Partnership just posted this blog , Congo is #2 Failed State,\u00a0with the news that according to the Fund for Peace&#8217;s Failed States Index, Congo is now the #2 failed state. \u00a0What strikes at the heart in the articles and blog links is this comment: &#8220;The article in Foreign Affairs continues, &#8220;What\u2019s tragic is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Congo is #2 Failed State - Ekstrands in Congo<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/2012\/06\/congo-is-2-failed-state\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Congo is #2 Failed State - Ekstrands in Congo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Paul Carlson Partnership just posted this blog , Congo is #2 Failed State,\u00a0with the news that according to the Fund for Peace&#8217;s Failed States Index, Congo is now the #2 failed state. \u00a0What strikes at the heart in the articles and blog links is this comment: &#8220;The article in Foreign Affairs continues, &#8220;What\u2019s tragic is [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/ekstrand\/2012\/06\/congo-is-2-failed-state\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ekstrands in Congo\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-06-29T18:53:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-07-30T15:35:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Pete &amp; 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