The collaboration problematique Managing frontiers of insecurity through state building interventionism.

The pulling nature of crises on the 'frontiers' stimulates Western interventionism focused on state building. This interventionism is fundamentally dependent upon collaboration with indigenous politics and 'collaborative systems', the relationships linking interventionist actors with indigenous ones, determine its structure and dynamics. State building interventions rely on collaborative systems because they define the interface of the external forces of the intervening power with indigenous politics. Unless the energy and resources of the intervening power can be translated and internalised into terms of indigenous politics, the intervention will be unable to achieve its state building goals. Presently, Western states are both failing to build appropriate collaborative systems and to manage their collaborative partners. However, if Western states can improve their approach to and implementation of collaboration with indigenous politics, they can better manage insecurity on the frontiers through state-building interventionism.