Fragility of Societies: Putting Societal Dynamics at the centre of the Analysis, by Benjamin PETRINI

The multidimensional approach to fragility in the OECD States of Fragility 2015 report is a welcome step forward towards a more nuanced understanding of the causes and dynamics of fragility itself. It brings us one step closer to devising better policies to minimize the toll that fragility exacts on institutions, economies and societies at large. By singling out five discrete “lenses” of fragility (i.e. levels of violence, access to justice, the quality and functioning of institutions, economic foundations, and resilience to shocks), the new model is able to better identify those diverse dimensions of fragility and categorize countries according to the challenges they face – rather than simply dividing the world into fragile and non-fragile countries.