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November 25, 2007

What Victory Looks Like in Recovering Failed States

Victory in places like Iraq and Afghanistan, whenever it comes, will look like what's going on with Macedonia right now, says Thomas P.M. Barnett:

. . . Macedonia, with the help of the U.S. Agency for International Development, made itself the first all-broadband wireless country of its size - or larger - in the world. The name of that USAID program, Macedonia Connects, is wonderfully symbolic of this small country's dogged determination to join the global economy.

So when I first came across those "Invest in Macedonia" ads, I couldn't help but think to myself that this is what victory would look like in places like Iraq and Afghanistan - not our victory but theirs.

The ad, appropriately enough, is one big sales job. Describing itself as the "new business heaven in Europe," the unspoken come-on in the ad seems to be, "if you can't afford Croatia any more, try us instead!"

Most impressively, the ad promises that investors can register their new company in four hours or less. Try matching that in your average developing country, and you'd be lucky to get your papers signed in four months!

As for investor benefit packages, which the ad declares "will be approved within 10 business days," try these on for size: no corporate tax for 10 years; 5 percent individual income tax for five years; free connections to gas, electricity, sewer and water; and concessionary land leases for up to 75 years.

All that for joining a free economic zone (FEZ) with "immediate access to main international airport, railroad and vital road corridors."

As an international businessman who focuses on infrastructure development, let me tell you, that sort of offer gets my attention, along with the fact that the World Bank's "Doing Business 2008" report just named Macedonia the fourth-best reforming economy in the world. China was ninth.

What I like about the ad is how shamelessly Macedonia sells its existing connectivity to attract even more: FEZs, transportation hubs and free trade agreements encompassing 650 million consumers.

Toss in cheap labor and nationwide wi-fi, and you've got yourself a country just itching to be "exploited."

And, yeah, that's what victory looks like for your average failed state: getting yourself off the front page and into the business advertising section. . . .

You can find Barnett's complete commentary here; in it he'll remind you about our not-so-distant past history of conflict with in the region---the Balkan Wars of the 1990s.

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