He poses the question that most Americans prefer to gloss over: is California governable?

ECONOMIST: California

Congo, now undergoing a shoddy election, still looks barely governable and hideously corrupt.

ECONOMIST: The hopeful continent

Britain is considered governable, but that might change after Wednesday's strike of public service workers shuts down the country.

WSJ: Agenda | Irwin Stelzer: Euro-Zone Shark Still Has Its Appetite

"Plan Colombia" was important because it enabled Colombia to strengthen its democratic institutions while making the country more governable.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: The FTA with Colombia: the political dimension

Mrs Arroyo has pledged to reduce the country's huge public debt, speed up growth, improve the tax take and produce constitutional reforms to make the Philippines more governable.

ECONOMIST: The Philippines' election

AIDS, the prospect of the country, which has a large and increasingly assertive Muslim population, being even less governable than it is now is one that must worry America's State Department.

ECONOMIST: AIDS

He is seeking broad agreements with Alan Garcia, his politically more experienced rival in this year's election, and with other opponents, in an effort to ensure the country will be governable.

ECONOMIST: A tough country to govern

But is it governable at the federal level anymore?

FORBES: Is America Governable?

In fact, the spokesman's desperate hyperbole reveals the truth of the matter: Mr Jonathan is taking over the leadership of one of the world's least governable countries in the least promising circumstances.

ECONOMIST: Nigeria's new president