After the end of the Cold War, new developments in the international situation increased the urgency for a re-conceptualization in the study of weak or failed states. For a number of countries that are under current and emerging authoritarian or dictatorial regimes and entering a very long process of transition towards a liberal regime with a free market, it has now become clear that the understanding of the concept of a “state” cannot be taken for granted. Although the state-building process is a primarily domestic endeavor, the outsiders’ role is also indispensable. There is a strong correlation between weak states and security issues.