In
its fifth annual FSI released recently, the Washington DC-based
research organisation has listed Nepal among the worst 38 countries,
ranking it 25th. The level of statelessness in the 38 countries sends
"warning" signal, according to Fund for Peace. While countries such as
Iraq and Kenya are seen to be progressing, Nepal's position in the 2009
Index (95.4) is deteriorating compared to the 2008 Index (94.2), the
study states.

Fund
for Peace uses some 12 attributes broadly categorised under "neither
exclusive nor exhaustive" social, economic and political indicators for
its FSI analysis.

Nepal
stands in the category that includes countries like Somalia, Zimbabwe,
Sudan, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan and North Korea, which make up the
list of worst governed countries reeling under conflict, corruption,
poverty, impunity and statelessness.  Countries like Norway, Finland,
Sweden and Switzerland, which ranked 177th, 176th, 175th and 174th
respectively are seen as best governed.

Also,
in terms of the Index, India fares better with 87th rank than China,
which ranks 57th. And Japan ranks 164th, the UK 161st and the USA
159th.

The only solace for Nepal probably is that it fares better than Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, ranked 19th and 22nd in order.

The
study has attributed Nepal's worsening condition to social, economic
and political indicators such as weak and ine-ffective government,
external intervention, economic decline, poverty and widening
inequality, impunity, deteriorating rule of law, violation of human
rights, and corruption.

Most
indicators used to gauge Nepal's status in the 2009 Index show
deteriorating governance. For instance, there is no let up in external
intervention, which is as high as it was in 2008. The gap between poor
and rich continues to widen and the country's overall economy shows a
downward spiral.

The
Index show that problems associated with refugees and displaced persons
(from 5.5 score in 2008 to 6.8 in 2009) continue to burden the
country's weak governance and security.

With
malfunctioning public services and utilities such as drinking water,
electricity, and transport, Nepal is heading towards being one of the
worst ten countries in the index of failed states. The think-tank's
statistics show Nepal's public services worsening by 0.4 score, from
7.0 in 2008 to 7.4 in 2009.

The
Index also states that Nepal scored higher in terms of promoting
"factionalized elites", which has contributed to unstable politics
leading to continuous bickering among political parties. Other key
indicators such as human rights, security and rule of law exhibit no
real progress. As a result, Nepal stands 13 steps above Iran and just
eight steps below North Korea in the list of worst governed countries.

According
to experts in state building, if the trend continues, Nepal could be a
failed state. "We are still far from being a failed state, but
difficulties in government formation, weak state apparatuses, impunity
and lack of rule of law are symptomatic of the same," said Prof. Surya
Dhungel. “If Nepal continues to move up the Index, it could invite
intervention,” he said.