State Vulnerability and the Facets of Development: Lessons from Post-Communist Evolutions in South-Eastern Europe

Abstract:     
This paper contrasts various theoretical constructs of ‘state vulnerability’ and explores in a summary account their applicability for the development processes in South Eastern Europe.

The findings support the supposition that ‘vulnerability’ is an elusive concept despite many attempts at quantifying fragility of a country’s political and economical construction. This paper provides a comparative analysis of three categories of indices, of human development, of governance (i.e. government effectiveness), and of economic performance. On the example of South Eastern Europe countries, it is argued that the varied facets of vulnerability enlarge the perspective of development, and also suggested that the expected correlations require an extension of the standard analytical framework.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 11

Keywords: development, vulnerability, the Balkans, failed states

JEL Classification: F52, O19

working papers series