A state may be said to have failed when it cannot carry out basic functions such as education, governance, or security; a state where the government is not effectively in a position to exert its authority over its entire territory. ‘In many cases, the authority of the state is challenged by internal factions resulting in bloody civil conflicts and a scenario wherein the effective control of different parts of the state territory lies in the hands of different regional warring factions’ (NUIM’s 2013 Failed States Index).

http://nuimgeography.wordpress.com/?s=failed Website of NUIM with failed state index.