failed state

noun

1. a nation in which the government has lost political authority and control and is unable to fulfill the basic responsibilities of a sovereign state.

failed state

noun

1. a weak state where social and political structures have collapsed to the point where the government has little or no control

Word History and Origins

Origin of failed state¹

First recorded in 1990–95

Example Sentences

Stefanik and Rubio are conventionally credentialed and will probably have basic familiarity with the issues they’re working on, but they’re also being put in the jobs that have the least potential to turn the U.S. into a failed state, which is good, I guess.

From Slate

In Lebanon, Hezbollah pushed a once-functional, quasi-democratic country into failed state status, crippling its politics, rendering the Lebanese army irrelevant, aggravating the collapse of the banking system and other basic services, and now dragging it into war with Israel.

From Los Angeles Times

“Then the question becomes: Do you want to live next to a failed state ruled by gangs like Haiti, or do you want South Korea to take the initiative, steer the region toward stability and eventually democratize and reunify with the North?”

From Los Angeles Times

Donald Trump regularly claims, during his current campaign, that Democratic policies have turned the U.S. into a “banana republic,” a “failed state,” a “third-world country” or some such degradation of America.

From Salon

“This began as a movement against discrimination and this discrimination applies not only to jobs but everywhere in Bangladesh - attacks on minorities, the fundamentalist forces. We need to control those as well if we don’t want to turn into a failed state.”

From BBC