Success of the State

It was said in class that success of the state has come easy due to imitation. I personally feel that this is a broad statement with no real clarification. For instance, if a state is a geographic region with a set of governing institutions and a monopoly on violence, would brutal regimes, dictators and third world countries fall into this category? Assuming that they do, what exactly defines a state as successful? Is success defined as stability and a political figure to deal with? Shouldn't a successful state be defined as one that has fair laws, keeps order and fairly represents its citizens? I feel that this needs to be considered when analyzing international politics, especially since the large scope of the current world situation for states is clearly far from successful.