Since the early 1990s, the challenges posed by fragile and failing states have been a contentious and enduring part of the debates on post-Cold War international security. Though extensive, these debates have so far yielded little agreement on either the essential nature of state fragility and failure and what, if anything, potential outside intervenors can and should do to prevent it from developing, restore state functionality, or at least mitigate its impact and consequences. In this book, an international team of authors examine both the conceptual and practical challenges posed by this phenomenon. They consider the essential nature of the problem and through a variety of case studies, examine the effectiveness or otherwise of various regional and wider international responses in Africa, the Middle East and South America. This book will be of interest to both academics and practitioners engaged in studying and responding to the ongoing challenges posed by the existence of fragile and failing states in the contemporary international system.