The goal of this study is to analyze the onset of state collapse, and to demonstrate the existence of a common and minimal causal pattern or a set of core factors leading to it. Three countries (Lebanon, Somalia, and the former Yugoslavia) have been selected because they are very different (different cases), and yet all collapsed at some point in their history (similar outcome). A comparison of these different cases offers the opportunity to determine to what extent certain variables might appear to be crucial to moving from one type of situation to the next. QCA appears particularly suited to this, as it provides a standardized method to handle qualitative information. By no means a new phenomenon, state collapse has only recently started to attract more generalizing studies, as opposed to the traditional single case study approach used to date. However, none of these have developed a general framework that could be applicable globally. Our objective is thus not to test, corroborate, contradict, or develop existing theories, but to formulate a new theory on state failure.