A report published by the American University of Beirut’s (AUB) Crisis Observatory has ranked Lebanon among the 34 most failed countries in the world.
The report, published on the Masdar Diplomacy website, indicates that despite all of its prevailing crises, such as shortages in medicine and fuel and decreased accessibility to basic services, the crisis in Lebanon has not reached its peak.
It cites Lebanon’s position on the Fragile States Index (formerly known as the Failed States Index), which rose by 6 places between 2020 and 2021 alone.
Over the past 5 years, Lebanon climbed 36 positions to become, as it currently is, one of the 34 most fragile states out of the 179 states included in the index.
The index takes into account various factors, such as security risks, political violence, economic decline, division of elites and political groups, loss of state legitimacy, increase in foreign interference, the decline in human rights and the rule of law, and displacement.
The Crisis Observatory’s report notes that the above indicators have registered a significant decline in Lebanon, particularly since the August 4 Beirut explosion.
“With this, Lebanon joins the Arab and developing countries that are vulnerable to disintegration due to wars and acute conflicts – such as Yemen, Somalia, Syria, Libya, Iraq, Chad, Afghanistan, and Congo – or those that suffer deep economic crises and severe governance crises, such as Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, and North Korea.”
The report expects Lebanon’s ranking to fall even further in 2022, particularly in the fields of economic strength, public services, and political division.