Clare Lockhart - Director of the Institute for State Effectiveness
Ashraf Ghani - former Finance Minister of Afghanistan
(Respondents TBC)

Clare Lockhart and Ashraf Ghani will be speaking at Demos about their new book, Fixing Failed States.

‘Failed States’ – the home of the world’s so-called Bottom Billion – are largely beyond the help of traditional aid and development. Leadership is corrupt, social institutions are virtually non-existent; aid money disappears before it can be used; ethnic conflict, absolute poverty, terrorism, and trafficking hold sway. International approaches to date - whether humanitarian, aid or military, have rarely proven successful.

Fixing Failed States presents a framework which rebuilds from the ground up, putting finances, democratic accountability, and know-how into the hands of those who are most motivated to make it work – ordinary citizens.

The event takes place as DFID runs a public consultation on the future direction of the department's programme in Afghanistan. The discussion will focus on previous examples of state building, the UK's role in Afghanistan, the international community's approach to failing states and the challenges of building capacity and democratic accountability from the ground up.

This event is by invitation only. For more information about the event, or to request an invitation, please contact charlie.edwards@demos.co.uk.

Please click here for more information about the book.