Somalia

I recently attended a conference where I had the chance to hear the speech of one Somali diplomat, whose identity or post is not what is important here. What he said, however, matters much more as he has indeed brought on the table many issues concerning the Federal Republic of Somalia’s future.

Despite an unprecedented number of foreign interventions particularly since 2000, Somalia lingers on as a failed state, which is a threat to the international peace and security.

October 6, 2014
Clan Federalism: The worst option for state building in Somalia

Optimism for peace and recovery in Somalia has become a transient feeling quickly dashed by the occurrence of violent incidents and discovery of gross wrongdoings.

Early in September United States President Barack Obama announced that he had carried out a targeted assassination killing the leader of the Al-Shabaab Islamic resistance organization in Somalia which has been fighting against the Federal Government and a regional military force for over six year

On 5 May, more than 100 parliamentarians signed a letter calling on President Hassan to resign immediately.

Finding the right framework for a workable governance system for Somalia has been problematic for both governments in the West and academics from around the world for more than two decades.

The Kenyan government’s brutal human rights violations against the Somali community in Kenya as well as its its unlawful military and diplomatic actions in the Jubba regions of Somalia have gone largely uncommented upon.

The latest terrorist attack on Somalia’s presidential palace comes less than 10 days from another daylight suicide attack on a UN convoy near Mogadishu’s airport.

In the context of Somali political culture and discourse, it should be clear by now that the meaning of the principle of ‘federalism in Somalia’ is completely different from the one of political power decentralization for governance explored in the legal and political literature.