An Overview of Somalia (original) (raw)
Somalia: Country analysis (2012)
Peace and Security Council Report (Institute for Security Studies), 2012
Somalia is currently experiencing a political and historical turning point. After almost 8 years of the transitional period and 21 years of state collapse, the end of the transition and the launching of a new government have engendered the hope that this could be the inception of a broader political process embracing all Somalis. It also opens the door for a possible and much needed transformation from a war-based economy to a post-war civilian economy. However, the stabilisation of the country is a long way off.
Somalia: A Case Study in Nation Building
2000
Among Muslim nations, few have achieved an international standard of good governance. Somalia, completely dismembered by European colonial power, and now reduced to nearly total anarchy by the generation of post-independence rule, is desperately in need of help. Mer a thorough analysis of recent aid efforts, it is concluded that only the Somalis can rescue themselves. An in depth interview was conducted on a select group of Somali and Malaysian intellectuals and diplomats. A first-hand observation was organized into a chronology of events during the post-independence years, and then this data was analysed in detail. The thesis findings involve a twofold failure. Almost unaccountably, President Siyad Bare's post-independence rule quickly degenerated from an Islamic ideology expressed in "scientific socialist" political form, into a totally anarchy involving the worst forms of corruption, nepotism and tribalism. This is
SOMALIA: AN OVERVIEW OF THE HISTORICAL AND CURRENT SITUATION
Social Science Research Network, 2016
In Somalia as in many other conflict ravaged societies, “history is deadly ammunition in today’s political wars.” In that respect, to comprehend the depth of apparently unsolvable and protracted crisis in Somalia, it is essential to identify and analyse the underlying causes of these predicaments that have been unfolding since the colonial era. Additionally, understanding the causes and intricacies of the current political turmoil is also necessary for finding the way to end this madness, as other analysts rightly acknowledged with reference to the Somali conflict “an understanding of what went wrong is indispensable to the search for solutions to the president predicament.” In that respect, this paper provides some background information and analysis on the key events leading up to the complete collapse of the Somali State in 1991 and its devastating aftermath. Furthermore, this paper examines human rights records of subsequent Somali governments as well as non-state actors. Finally, it highlights and studies the challenges and problems associated with attempts to reconstitute collapsed state institutions.
The Economic Development of Somalia
Summary: This study attempts to explore on the Economic Development of Somalia, According to the CIA and the Central Bank of Somalia, despite experiencing civil unrest, Somalia has maintained a healthy informal economy, based mainly on livestock, remittance/money transfer companies and telecommunications. Due to a dearth of formal government statistics and the recent civil war, it is difficult to gauge the size or growth of the economy. For 1994, the CIA estimated the GDP at 3.3billionIn2001,itwasestimatedtobe3.3 billion In 2001, it was estimated to be 3.3billionIn2001,itwasestimatedtobe4.1 billion. By 2009, the CIA estimated that the GDP had grown to $5.731 billion, with a projected real growth rate of 2.6.According to a 2007 British Chambers of Commerce report, the private sector also grew, particularly in the service sector. Unlike the pre-civil war period when most services and the industrial sector were government-run, there has been substantial, albeit unmeasured, private investment in commercial activities; this has been largely financed by the Somali diaspora, and includes trade and marketing, money transfer services, transportation, communications, fishery equipment, airlines, telecommunications, education, health, construction and hotels. Libertarian economist Peter T. Leeson attributes this increased economic activity to the Somali customary law (referred to as Xeer), which he suggests provides a stable environment to conduct business. Keywords: Economic Development, economic activity, Somalia
THE PUNTLAND STATE OF SOMALIA 2 May 2010
2013
Any undertaking like this one is fraught with at least two types of difficulties. The author may simply get some things wrong; misinterpret or misrepresent complex situations. Secondly, the author may fail in providing a sense of the generality of events he describes, thus failing to position single events within the tendencies, they belong to.
Afterword: Somalia, An Economy with "Stateness"
2023
Much has changed in Somalia and Somali East Africa since the publication of Somalia: Economy without state almost two decades ago (Little, 2003). Despite a dizzying pace of transition in certain economic sectors, especially in telecommunications and digital finance, there are certain processes and pursuits, such as pastoralism and migration, that have remained stubbornly consistent. The collection of essays in this book, Trade Makes States, reflects this kind of unstable equilibrium between economy and 'state' in the region by treading across familiar and enduring themes, such as trade and trust, as well as new subjects, such as the roles of infrastructure and taxation in state building.
ABSTRACT+ Somalia, from 1991 to the present day, is cited as a real-world example of a stateless society and legal system. Since the fall of Siad Barre's government in January 1991, there had been no permanent national government in Somalia until the current Transitional Federal Government. Large areas of the country such as Puntland, and Galmudug are internationally unrecognized autonomous regions, while Somaliland is a de facto sovereign state. The remaining areas, including the capital Mogadishu, are divided into smaller territories ruled by competing warlords. In the whole of Southern Somalia there are no formal regulations or licensing requirements for businesses and individuals. Somalia is currently claimed as the sovereign territory of the Transitional Federal Government, internationally recognized as the Government of Somalia. Before December 2006, the TFG controlled only the town of Baidoa, the sixth largest city. The intervention of Ethiopian government forces following the rise of the Islamic Courts Union, culminating in the latter's defeat in the Battle of Baidoa, allowed the TFG to expand its control under the protection of the African Union troops. The TFG has not been able to effectively collect taxes, has no notable finances or real power base, and has struggled to exert control over Mogadishu since an attempted move in late December 2013. This is because the TFG has only been able to collect less that 20% of taxes. However, the TFG has since been able to take most of Somalia, and is struggling to cement its control and establish law and order. Areas that TFG has taken control enjoy stability and have an enabling environment to do business. Benjamin Powell argues that statelessness has led to more order and less chaos than had the previous state, and economist Alex Tabarrok has claimed that Somalia in its stateless period provided a "unique test of the theory of anarchy", in some aspects near of that espoused by anarcho-capitalists David D. Friedman and Murray Rothbard, although this is disputed by various anarchists, of both the capitalist and anti-capitalist varieties, who contend it is not anarchy, but merely chaos, perhaps resulting from unequal distribution of power and meddling by neighbours and developed nations like the United States. The Somali experience since the collapse of the state, and especially the failure of international intervention, has offered a clear challenge to elements of conventional economic, political and social order theory and the very premises under which Western diplomacy and development agencies operate, and in particular, |4 in the words of anthropologist Peter D. Little, "assumptions about the role of states in maintaining order and services". (The Economist, January 2014). In this dissertation, it is analyzed that organized states as an institutions failed to work for Somalia. It will show that a unified state economic solution as recommended by Somalia’s international partners is damaging rather than a helping prescription.
TESF Somalia/Somaliland Background Paper
2021
This country background paper examines the issues of sustainable development and education with regards to the current situation in Somalia/Somaliland. It expands on the TESF Somalia/Somaliland Briefing Note, which sets out the need for education systems in Somalia and Somaliland to be transformed and provides valuable context to aid understanding, analysis of and action on education and United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
This draft chapter of my PhD "Statebuilding in Somalia" examines the foundation and subsequent evolution of the state in Somaliland, from 1991 to today.
Somaliland: post-war nation-building and international relations, 1991-2006
2008
This thesis owes a debt of gratitude to many souls. This study has been six years in the making, a multi-faceted and challenging intellectual journey, and one which would indeed not have been possible without the cooperation and encouragement of numerous individuals and institutions. Permit me to begin with my beloved wife Naseema and sons Adeeb and Faadil, who supported my nine visits to Somaliland, the Horn of Africa and tolerated my absence from them during the school holidays, where I was able to quietly work on my thesis. A debt of gratitude is also due to Professor John J Stremlau, my supervisor, for his intellectual support and consistent reminders to develop the chapters of this thesis. His significant feedback and time during difficult moments is gratefully appreciated. Mohamoud Salah Nur (Fagadhe) and Abdillahi Duale's official foreign policy mission to South Africa in July 2000 kindled my interest in the topic. I also wish to thank Dr Edna Adan Ismail for support and access to materials at the Somaliland Foreign Ministry. Dr Hussein Bulhan, former Director of the Academy of Peace and Development in Hargeisa, facilitated my field visits and interviews in Somaliland. Dr Ahmed Esa, Director of the Hargeisa-based Institute for Practical Research and Training and Mr Bashir Goth, Editor of Awdalnews.com, both gave their invaluable time to read my chapters and make significant comments. African Union Commission senior officials Patrick Mazimhaka, Ben Kioko and archival staff, for important materials and time to interrogate key continental issues. Somali studies experts Matt Bryden, John Drysdale, Hussein Adam and Ioan M Lewis for the many opportunities to discuss and respond to inquiries. The encouragement of Professor Ali Mazrui spurred me on with this study at a critical juncture of my life.