Ceuta crisis sparks debate over whether Spain is a failed state
The term failed state is increasingly used about Spain after the Ceuta border crisis. The 11M and the CNI are at the centre of the comparison.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Ceuta and the failed-state complex
Is Spain a failed state? The question sounds like an exaggeration, but it has gained traction in public debate after the crisis at the Ceuta border. Those who use the term are not talking about institutional collapse, but about a real loss of control over matters affecting sovereignty.
The comparison with the 11M (the 2004 Madrid train bombings) comes up again and again. If back then the CNI (Spain's intelligence service) failed spectacularly, now the feeling repeats itself: the state reacts late and badly to foreseeable threats. Sarcasm does the rest: some prefer to swap the adjective for a coarser expression, but the conclusion is identical.
There are also those who believe that applying the failed-state label to a consolidated democracy is a self-serving hyperbole. Border crises, however serious, do not amount to a collapse of institutions.
And, as could not be otherwise, football sneaks into the debate: someone always brings up Argentina's humiliation at the World Cup to round things off. With that level of argumentation, the picture is complete. The only thing that seems to fail chronically is the capacity to be surprised.
Is Spain a failed state? The question sounds like an exaggeration, but it has gained traction in public debate after the crisis at the Ceuta border. Those who use the term are not talking about institutional collapse, but about a real loss of control over matters affecting sovereignty.
The comparison with the 11M (the 2004 Madrid train bombings) comes up again and again. If back then the CNI (Spain's intelligence service) failed spectacularly, now the feeling repeats itself: the state reacts late and badly to foreseeable threats. Sarcasm does the rest: some prefer to swap the adjective for a coarser expression, but the conclusion is identical.
There are also those who believe that applying the failed-state label to a consolidated democracy is a self-serving hyperbole. Border crises, however serious, do not amount to a collapse of institutions.
And, as could not be otherwise, football sneaks into the debate: someone always brings up Argentina's humiliation at the World Cup to round things off. With that level of argumentation, the picture is complete. The only thing that seems to fail chronically is the capacity to be surprised.
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (51 replies).
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