Foreign Policy has their annual 2012 failed states index out and Latvia is listed as "borderline." This data actually originates over at the Fund For Peace where there is more detail for those so inclined.
Using such indicators as Demographic Pressures, Refugees / IDP’s, Group Grievance, Human Flight, Uneven Development, Economic Decline,Deligitimation of the State, Public Services, Human Rights, Security Apparatus, Factionalized Elites & External Intervention Latvia is nowhere near the top 59 ranked failed states which has Somalia at #1 with a score of 114.9 and Mozambique in the #59 position with a score of 82.4. Nevertheless Estonia and Lithuania rate better than Latvia at #143/47.5 and #149/44.2 respectively, Latvia sitting at #136/51.9. Just for some added perspective Greece is currently ranked at #138/50.4 on the list and Finland wins with a #177/20.0.
I take all lists with a grain of salt, like financial lists which seem to need Latvia's one time GDP boost to bolster the internal devaluation or austerity measures which some politicians are wedded to in spite of many top economists advising more spending. But if you take as much of the information into account as you are able to absorb then a person stands a better chance of cutting through the sound bites and selective rendering and shilling in the media.
I personally think that it will be a long time before Latvia offers a comfortable living for the average person. As a property owner who took a bath when the real estate bubble burst in 2008 I read stories like this with a frown. Latvia is rapidly becoming a country of haves & have nots.
But it's not quite a failed state, yet.
Using such indicators as Demographic Pressures, Refugees / IDP’s, Group Grievance, Human Flight, Uneven Development, Economic Decline,Deligitimation of the State, Public Services, Human Rights, Security Apparatus, Factionalized Elites & External Intervention Latvia is nowhere near the top 59 ranked failed states which has Somalia at #1 with a score of 114.9 and Mozambique in the #59 position with a score of 82.4. Nevertheless Estonia and Lithuania rate better than Latvia at #143/47.5 and #149/44.2 respectively, Latvia sitting at #136/51.9. Just for some added perspective Greece is currently ranked at #138/50.4 on the list and Finland wins with a #177/20.0.
I take all lists with a grain of salt, like financial lists which seem to need Latvia's one time GDP boost to bolster the internal devaluation or austerity measures which some politicians are wedded to in spite of many top economists advising more spending. But if you take as much of the information into account as you are able to absorb then a person stands a better chance of cutting through the sound bites and selective rendering and shilling in the media.
I personally think that it will be a long time before Latvia offers a comfortable living for the average person. As a property owner who took a bath when the real estate bubble burst in 2008 I read stories like this with a frown. Latvia is rapidly becoming a country of haves & have nots.
But it's not quite a failed state, yet.
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