And given the already wobbly economy and the already weak authority of the government, a serious setback might set the stage for social and political turmoil -- maybe with an ethnic and religious edge.
In diplomatic circles, Mr. Karzai is sometimes referred to as the "Mayor of Kabul," a reference to his control of the capital, but weak authority in remote areas of the country.
The report described circumstances during a period of fluidity and weak authority after the popular uprising that ousted Kyrgyzstan's authoritarian leader, Kurmanbek S. Bakiyev.
He said all of the councils which were happy to merge were "weak authorities" which should not be paired together.
It makes us look like a weak authority.
While both floating and fixed-rate regimes are equally desirable in principle, it must be stressed that floating rates, unlike fixed rates, do not perform well in developing countries because these countries usually lack a strong rule of law, have weak monetary authorities and histories of monetary instability.
Country ownership of national and subnational coordination is undermined by the weak decision making authority of many coordination structures and limited or perfunctory engagement among GHIs and other donors, particularly at the subnational level.
But Libya's challenges are magnified by weak transitional authorities, the absence of a working court system and a flood of weapons in civilian hands.
Instead of weak central authorities (known as anocracies) may be an encouraging environment for migration.
He said Tolokonnikova was still weak after two hunger strikes, and accused the authorities of trying to punish her because of her protests.
But now, Ambassador Stevens's death has led to the undermining of an already weak central authority, the further isolation of Benghazi from Libya's political center, a slowing of American and international technical aid and the empowerment of the Islamists.
