Abstract
The article calls into question the concept of failed state as presented in U.S. foreign policy documents. Our argument is threefold. First, the idea of state failure rests on the understanding that they fail because they do not perform what is expected from them in the present. Secondly, statebuilding efforts are based on the idea that, at some point, states have been able to carry out functions that are considered essential to any government and can be put back on a trajectory of progress. Finally, U.S. military interventions in these countries are not derived only from the perception of an atypical situation that requires exceptional measures. The premise of deciding what is an exception is part of the process of affirming the identity of a sovereign state to the U.S.
Keywords:
Failed states; Sovereignty; Exception; U.S.