Paper long abstract:

Writers on failed state give explanatory accounts that emphasize neopatrimonialism, resource curse, corruption etc. This paper goes beyond these interpretations to determine if there is a linkage between political institutionalization of identities and state failure. It accepts that institutional arrangements for conflict reduction could be effective, but it also tries to establish that there are situations in which such arrangements could lead to sustained and widespread violence. To achieve this goal, the paper explains and relates the concept of failed state to the dominant idea about the postcolonial state as 'weak,' 'soft' or a 'lame leviathan'. It then does a case study by examining the institutional arrangements Nigerians designed to make for political inclusion of groups and maintain national unity. It finds that these arrangements turned out to be a source of political disorders that have reduced the ability of the state to register its presence in most parts of the country.