The Anatomy of Governance Breakdown: Rethinking Authority and Regulation in Fragile Contexts

Abdulrauf Atia; Entisar Alatrish

doi:10.47353/lawpass.v3i1.114

Authors

Abdulrauf Atia University of Zawia, Libya LY
Entisar Alatrish University of Zawia, Libya LY

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47353/lawpass.v3i1.114

Keywords:

Governance breakdown, Fragile states, Authority, Legal pluralism, Social legitimacy, Administrative governance

Abstract

Contemporary governance is increasingly challenged by conditions of fragility, instability, and institutional fragmentation. This article examines governance breakdown as a multidimensional phenomenon that extends beyond institutional failure, focusing on the interplay between authority, regulation, and social legitimacy in fragile contexts. Using a qualitative and conceptual approach grounded in interdisciplinary literature, the study explores how governance systems operate when state authority is fragmented, legal frameworks are pluralistic, and administrative practices are weakened. The findings reveal that governance breakdown is characterized by overlapping and competing sources of authority, disrupted regulatory coherence, contested social values, and ineffective administrative mechanisms. Rather than indicating the absence of governance, these conditions reflect a reconfiguration of governance processes under structural constraints. The study contributes to the literature by reconceptualizing governance breakdown as an analytical framework for understanding the limits of conventional governance models. It highlights that effective governance depends not only on formal legal structures but also on their alignment with social legitimacy and their implementation through functional administrative practices. The article further emphasizes the need for adaptive, context-sensitive governance approaches capable of addressing normative diversity and institutional complexity in fragile environments.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Acemoglu, D., & Robinson, J. A. (2012). Why nations fail: The origins of power, prosperity, and poverty. Crown Publishing.

Bates, R. H. (2008). When things fell apart: State failure in late-century Africa. Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511802393

Booth, D. (2012). Development as a collective action problem: Addressing the real challenges of African governance. Africa Power and Politics Programme.

Brinkerhoff, D. W. (2005). Rebuilding governance in failed states and post-conflict societies. Public Administration and Development, 25(1), 3–14. https://doi.org/10.1002/pad.352

Carothers, T. (2002). The end of the transition paradigm. Journal of Democracy, 13(1), 5–21. https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2002.0003

Chandler, D. (2010). International statebuilding: The rise of post-liberal governance. Routledge.

Collier, P. (2007). The bottom billion: Why the poorest countries are failing and what can be done about it. Oxford University Press.

Di John, J. (2010). The concept, causes and consequences of failed states. European Journal of Development Research, 22(1), 10–30. https://doi.org/10.1057/ejdr.2009.44

Fukuyama, F. (2014). Political order and political decay. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Grimm, S., Lemay-Hébert, N., & Nay, O. (2014). “Fragile states”: Introducing a political concept. Third World Quarterly, 35(2), 197–209. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2014.878127

Helman, G. B., & Ratner, S. R. (1993). Saving failed states. Foreign Policy, 89, 3–20. https://doi.org/10.2307/1149177

Hobbes, T. (1996). Leviathan. Cambridge University Press.

Jackson, R. H. (1990). Quasi-states: Sovereignty, international relations and the Third World. Cambridge University Press.

Krasner, S. D. (2004). Sharing sovereignty: New institutions for collapsed and failing states. International Security, 29(2), 85–120. https://doi.org/10.1162/0162288042879919

Lund, C. (2006). Twilight institutions: Public authority and local politics in Africa. Development and Change, 37(4), 685–705. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7660.2006.00497.x

Menkhaus, K. (2010). State failure and ungoverned space. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 632(1), 171–188. https://doi.org/10.1177/0002716210378366

Milliken, J., & Krause, K. (2002). State failure, state collapse, and state reconstruction. Development and Change, 33(5), 753–774. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-7660.00257

North, D. C., Wallis, J. J., & Weingast, B. R. (2009). Violence and social orders. Cambridge University Press.

OECD. (2011). Supporting statebuilding in situations of conflict and fragility. OECD Publishing.

Rotberg, R. I. (2004). When states fail: Causes and consequences. Princeton University Press.

Santos, B. de S. (2002). Toward a new legal common sense: Law, globalization, and emancipation. Butterworths.

Tilly, C. (1985). War making and state making as organized crime. In P. Evans et al. (Eds.), Bringing the state back in (pp. 169–191). Cambridge University Press.

Weber, M. (1978). Economy and society. University of California Press.

Zaum, D. (2007). The sovereignty paradox: The norms and politics of international statebuilding. Oxford University Press.

Zartman, I. W. (1995). Collapsed states: The disintegration and restoration of legitimate authority. Lynne Rienner Publishers.