Contributor(s): Dr Ashraf Ghani, Clare Lockhart | Authors Ashraf Ghani and Clare Lockhart challenge existing concepts of state systems and offer new ways of fostering bonds between states, civil societies and markets. This event marks the launch of Fixing Failed States - A Framework for Rebuilding a Fractured World (OUP, May 2008). Ashraf Ghani is chairman of the Institute for State Effectiveness and former finance minister of Afghanistan. Clare Lockhart is Director of the Institute for State Effectiveness, where she advises countries and other organizations on state-building. She was UN adviser to the Bonn process, and Adviser to the Government of Afghanistan responsible for several national initiatives. She is a lawyer, historian and specialist in institution-building, and has worked at the World Bank, UN and as a barrister.