First signs of law and order stabilised the country (4)
I believe the answer is:
laos
'country' is the definition.
(I know that Laos is a country)
'first signs of law and order stabilised' is the wordplay.
'first signs of' indicates taking the first letters.
The initial letters of 'law and order stabilised' is 'LAOS'.
'the' is the link.
(Other definitions for laos that I've seen before include "Landlocked south-east Asian country" , "Asian country, capital Vientiane" , "Country of SE Asia" , "Country of Indo-China, capital Vientiane" , "Indo-Chinese country" .)