This dissertation is a discussion of the causes as well as the process of state collapse. The hypothesis is that notwithstanding regional and local specificities, a similar causal pattern can be identified in different parts of the world. The point is not to determine all the potential causal factors of state failure, but only those which appear to be the most relevant in all countries under consideration. A concrete set of case studies (Lebanon, Somalia and the Former-Yugoslavia) is designed in order to test the validity of the variables. The analysis further highlights the weight of certain variables on which political actors should focus their action according to a state's degree of failure (or recovery). ...