Jane's Says: Iraq Only 22nd Most Unstable Country

Touted by a Wash Times story on soon-to-be-released report from Jane's Information Group, the respected rater of safety in countries:

Despite an insurgency and sectarian strife dating back to the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, Iraq is listed by Jane's risk analysts at 22nd among the world's 235 countries, territories and political entities, on par with countries such as Burundi and Nigeria.

"There's no doubt that Iraq right now has perhaps the world's most virulent insurgency within its borders, but the country has its strengths as well," said Christian Le Miere, managing editor of Jane's Country Risk, the journal that compiles the rankings.

The Palestinian territories are most unstable, followed by Afghanistan, Haiti, and seven African countries in the top ten. Pakistan is 28 and North Korea is 45th for those keeping score. The Vatican and Sweden are the most stable. Where's the U.S.--what with that porous border and all them guns? Look it up. 

More here.

Comments

The Wine Commonsewer | March 25, 2008, 8:32am | #

....and the prevalence of guns keeping the United States from a higher score.....

Predictably, I don't see this as a flaw.

Secondly, even with all the guns, the US government has all the really cool tanks and stuff. Doesn't that more than offset my Old Man's .32 and the Celtic Forest Goddess' 16 gage?

John-David | March 25, 2008, 8:45am | #

So Iraq is more stable than the U.S., according to Jane's. Remind me to cancel my subscription to tem.

Patrick | March 25, 2008, 8:51am | #

John-David,
The U.S. is the 22nd most stable nation.
Iraq is the 22nd most unstable nation. Is this so hard to understand?

Daniel | March 25, 2008, 8:55am | #

"So Iraq is more stable than the U.S., according to Jane's. Remind me to cancel my subscription to them."

I thought that at first until I realized that they are referring to two different lists (same list, different directions actually).

Iraq is the 22nd most UNstable while the US is the 22nd most stable.

Interesting juxtaposition....

Alex | March 25, 2008, 8:55am | #

Tied with Canada? Let me go bury my head in shame... better yet let me go get my gun and shoot a few mexicans as that seems to be the solution favored by this report.

BakedPenguin | March 25, 2008, 9:08am | #

She's also done with Sergio, in case you were interested.

SugarFree | March 25, 2008, 9:10am | #

I hear he treated her like a ragdoll.

Abdul | March 25, 2008, 9:10am | #

We could make #20 just by taking our guns across our porous borders and destabilizing Vatican City and Sweden.

The nuns may give us a hard time for a while, but I bet Abba-land will be a cakewalk.

joe | March 25, 2008, 9:18am | #

I occurs to me that a country can be too stable.

But in the larger scheme of things, that's probably not a bad problem to have.

Bronwyn | March 25, 2008, 9:18am | #

She can't find her wig, have you seen it around?

albertwasaman | March 25, 2008, 9:24am | #

"Contrast that with, say, Afghanistan, where the central government is very weak, the drug trade is undermining the economy and the government cannot assert its will over warlords who run much of the hinterlands."

How does the drug trade undermine an economy? I would think that would be a boost to the economy, black market or above board. Can anyone fill me in?

Oh, and, "I'm done with Sergio"

T | March 25, 2008, 9:27am | #

I thought she was going away to Spain, what's all this about Sweden and the Vatican?

albertwasaman | March 25, 2008, 9:27am | #

Aww, damn, Bronwyn beat me to it...

Warty | March 25, 2008, 9:27am | #

But has she been in love?

John-David | March 25, 2008, 9:30am | #

Patrick,

It's early, and I don't drink coffee. I'm still cancelling my Jane's subscription.

Warty | March 25, 2008, 9:30am | #

Speaking of danger, here's Iggy and the Stooges: http://youtube.com/watch?v=P9_hegaKOaY

NeoconPenguin | March 25, 2008, 9:31am | #

...destabilizing Vatican City

This place is a fundamentalist theocracy, run by a head-of-state for life. I think we need to invade to bring democracy.

joe | March 25, 2008, 9:33am | #

The smoking gun may, in fact, be a gilded incense burner.

Mark | March 25, 2008, 9:35am | #

Here's the important question: Where did Iraq rank before the U.S. invasion?

Episiarch | March 25, 2008, 9:39am | #

Here's the important question: Where did Iraq rank before the U.S. invasion?

Probably more stable than us. See, the invasion was merely a plan to increase our stability rating.

Therefore, I support Abdul's proposal to invade the Vatican and Sweden. We can just go down the list until we're A-number-1.

Damian P. | March 25, 2008, 9:44am | #

Canada isn't overrun by guns or illegal immigants, so how did we end up tied with the US? Maybe Quebec separation (which is dormant these days, but could come back). Or, more likely, bears.

I don't know where Iraq was under Saddam, but I think it was something like eighth-from-worst in the last Jane's survey (post-invasion).

Sergio | March 25, 2008, 9:45am | #

Has anyone seen my television?

TallDave | March 25, 2008, 9:48am | #

I thought it was odd Britain was ranked so high. Their immigration/assimilation problem is worse than ours.

Here's the important question: Where did Iraq rank before the U.S. invasion?

Even before 1991, they had serious issues with Kurdish and Shia separatists.

Aresen | March 25, 2008, 10:01am | #

The UK rated at the top because all of their louts are busy terrorizing the rest of Europe.

TallDave | March 25, 2008, 10:16am | #

My guess is its the rampant gun control. There's even been talk of a ban on "unreasonably sharp" kitchen knives.

Show of hands: who wants to repeal the Second Amendment so we can move up?

Adamness | March 25, 2008, 10:19am | #

I thought it was odd Britain was ranked so high. Their immigration/assimilation problem is worse than ours.

It's because whenever these types of lists are created, they want to make Europe look better than the US no matter what the specifics are.

Timon19 | March 25, 2008, 10:24am | #

Jane's is originally a British intel-gathering house. They're probably still very British in culture despite being owned by a US firm.

Damian P. | March 25, 2008, 10:36am | #

The top 50 are listed here:

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article3617160.ece

The US and Canada finished just behind Australia, France, Malta and Norway, but ahead of Belgium, Spain, Italy and Finland. (I actually thought Belgium would have ranked much lower, considering that it may not exist much longer.)

R C Dean | March 25, 2008, 10:44am | #

North Korea is 45th for those keeping score

The Norks have been ruled by the same family for eons, have no viable opposition whatsoever, the economy and society are under the total control of the state . . .

I can't figure out why they wouldn't rank as one of the most "stable" places on the planet.

Timon19 | March 25, 2008, 10:53am | #

I'm surprised by Malta's rank, since they're awash in people trying to emigrate from Africa to Europe, have perhaps the highest population density in the world (on a few islands), and still have a large Mafia presence.

soap | March 25, 2008, 11:01am | #

There's even been talk of a ban on "unreasonably sharp" kitchen knives.

Ones that look like they could skin a crocodile?

Aresen | March 25, 2008, 11:05am | #

There's even been talk of a ban on "unreasonably sharp" kitchen knives.

Yeah, but those advocating it are not the sharpest knives in the drawer.

Cesar | March 25, 2008, 11:05am | #

At least the Canadians aren't ahead of us!

Shannon Love | March 25, 2008, 11:07am | #

I've long thought that one of the problems people have in judging the degree of success in Iraq is that they lack any detailed knowledge of the day-to-day problems faced by ordinary people in most 3rd world countries.

Most 3rd world countries suffer from invasive near totalitarian states that regulate and oppress ordinary enterprise but at the same time do nothing to protect citizens from violence. Kidnappings, gang warfare, hate crimes and large lawless zones are par for the course throughout much of the world. Most journalist and academics don't see the prevalent effects of this because they do not have to interact intensely with the local economy and society. Business people who have to actually get things done in 3rd world understand very well the scope of the problem.

mediageek | March 25, 2008, 11:16am | #

Ah, Jane's. As a child, I spent many, many hours flipping through the Jane's "List of Most Stable Nations," memorizing their flags and learning facts about them.

Kolohe | March 25, 2008, 11:35am | #

I see shenanigans on DPRK has already been called.

I also call it on Gibraltar being 5th most stable, considering its not an entirely sovereign nation - although I see they also ranked places like the CNMI and American Samoa - but unlike those, Spain would like it back.

Abdul | March 25, 2008, 11:41am | #

I'm surprised by Malta's rank, since they're awash in people trying to emigrate from Africa to Europe, have perhaps the highest population density in the world (on a few islands), and still have a large Mafia presence.

It's the Knights Hospitallers that keep Malta's stability rating so high.

No way we're tackling them.

The Wine Commonsewer | March 25, 2008, 12:59pm | #

I actually thought Belgium would have ranked much lower, considering that it may not exist much longer

I don't get out much can you tell me more about this interesting little tidbit?

peachy | March 25, 2008, 1:14pm | #

I think it boils down to this - the Walloons think the fucking Flemish run everything and are a bunch of arrogant gits too, and the Flemish think the Walloons are a bunch of fucking freeloaders. This particular dynamic isn't new - the whole Dutch/French rivalry usually keeps it at a nice even simmer - but the temperature has definitely been raised in the last few years. It's important to remember that Belgium was something of a 'fiat state', patched together after the Napoleonic Wars to neutralise a chunk of land that had caused no end of trouble over the previous centuries. It also had never been a country before; coming out of the Middle Ages it was part of Burgundy, which then made it part of - latterly the whole of - the Spanish Netherlands, and then bye-and-bye it was the Austrian Netherlands until being briefly absorbed into the French Empire.

Anyhow, there was a crisis involving an electoral district near Brussels (the details escape me, but they're easy to find if you're interested) that nearly set everything off a few months back, and for the first time (I believe, anyhow - Belgian politics isn't a specialty) there's really serious muttering about a break-up.

TrickyVic | March 25, 2008, 1:48pm | #

"""Even before 1991, they had serious issues with Kurdish and Shia separatists."""

Yeah, but then Iraq was kicking their ass, now they are kicking Iraq's. ;-)

bigbigslacker | March 25, 2008, 1:56pm | #

I think DPRK is the 45th most unstable, not 45th most stable. Or is that what yous guys people meant by its rating being inflated? (45th worst is still rated too goodly?)

Jane Says | March 25, 2008, 3:10pm | #

They take a swing/but they can't hit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXKXL8OlpUM

Kolohe | March 25, 2008, 7:04pm | #

yes too goodly; i'd put dprk in the middle of the pack vice top quartile of 'most unstable'

JDM | March 25, 2008, 9:35pm | #

"Ah, Jane's. As a child, I spent many, many hours flipping through the Jane's "List of Most Stable Nations," memorizing their flags and learning facts about them."

I call that good for a thread win.