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Begin New Search Publishing Institution Macalester College Author Abdi Ismail Samatar

1. Debating Somali Identity in a British Tribunal: The Case of the BBC Somali Service

Author:
Abdi Ismail Samatar
Publication Date:
12-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
The Somali Peace Conference sponsored by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), held in Kenya in 2003–05, was dominated by warlords and partisan mediators. It endorsed a political strategy whose objective has been to recreate Somalia as a clan-based federation. Advocates of this approach claim that such a dispensation will approximate the society's pre-colonial tradition and therefore has the best chance of restoring peace. An argument put forward in support of this agenda is that Somalia's former governments, particularly the military junta, misused public power by favoring and rewarding certain genealogical groups. Proponents contend that formally and openly using genealogical divisions as a basis for distributing public appointments and resources will prevent future clanist favoritism. This approach to political reconstruction mimics Ethiopia's seemingly novel political project, which divided the country into nine “ethnic provinces” in 1991. In the case of Ethiopia, the presumed rationale for this political strategy was to overcome past domination of the state by one ethnic group, rather than to revert to an old tradition. The imposition of Amharic culture and language on Oromos, Somalis, Afars, the people of the southern region, and other groups throughout the state—and the denial of their human rights—rationalized re-engineering the new order. The challenge for Ethiopia post-1991 has been how to undo past subjugation without reifying cultural differences politically. Dividing each country into administrative units based on ethnic belonging, the proponents argue, will promote democracy and produce a civic order in which no one ethnic group or clan dominates others.
Political Geography:
Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia

2. Somalia's Post-Conflict Economy: A Political Economy Approach

Author:
Abdi Ismail Samatar
Publication Date:
06-2007
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
Much discussion has taken place about reviving the Somali economy since the dawn of the new century. These conversations have not critically assessed what bedeviled the Somali economy during the tenure of the old regime and since its collapse. Further, no one has yet articulated an appropriate framework that accounts for the country's past and the ways in which a new Somali order can profitably learn from and engage with recent developments in the global environment. The factors that crippled the old order and that sustain the civil war must be identified and contained, if not fully controlled, during and after the transition. Among the ills that plague the Somali economy are structural constraints, mismanagement of public resources, a political elite whose preoccupation is looting the commons, lawlessness and warlord rule, and a disorganized public that failed to unite against a sectarian political agenda that stoked conflict between communities. The prospect that the transition will be economically successful is grim unless a conscious and concerted effort is made to reduce these political liabilities.
Political Geography:
Somalia

3. Transition and Leadership: An Editorial

Author:
Ahmed I. Samatar and Abdi Ismail Samatar
Publication Date:
07-2005
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
Let's begin with one fundamental assertion: We both feel deeply for Somalia and its people—our people. In the heat of this moment, some might dismiss such a sentiment as rather anachronistic. But even if there is some grain of truth to that judgment, we hold firmly that the instinct is a viable and deliberate mistiming commensurate with the imperatives of the long durée. Our loyalty, therefore, is to no individual or political group. On the contrary, we define ourselves as civic scholars whose sole interest is to make whatever small contribution our modest talents will allow to the revival of Somali national identity, dignity, and purpose. This brief essay's central concern, then, is the direction of the country in the wake of the recent announcements of a new leadership and political institutions. We offer these thoughts, though somewhat melancholic in word and tone, with the hope that our compatriots will use the new tidings as a potentially valuable development (albeit not a tabula rasa as one would have wished for); that is, a fleeting opportunity to be used to move out of the current morass and positively forge ahead towards an authentic renewal.
Political Geography:
Somalia

4. Ethiopian Ethnic Federalism and Regional Autonomy: The Somali Test

Author:
Abdi Ismail Samatar
Publication Date:
07-2005
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
In the 1990s in Africa, two sharply contrasting models of state-society relations and the role of ethnicity in national affairs have emerged. The first is the unitary dispensation that rejects the ethnic classification of its citizens while cognizant of the ill effects of a race and ethnicbased apartheid order. The African National Congress (ANC) and its allies in South Africa opted for a strategy they thought would ensure the country's political and administrative restructuring but would not perpetuate sectarian ethnic identity at the expense of citizenship. Consequently, the post-apartheid regional administrative structure and boundaries are not based on ethnicity. Further, the populations in these regions elect their provincial councils, and have gained some degree of fiscal autonomy, although South Africa remains a unitary state. A key manifestation of the system's competitiveness is the fact that opposition parties have governed two of the wealthiest and most populous regions for most of the past decade and the ANC has been unable to dislodge them until the most recent election in 2004. Although the ANC won the most votes in Kwa Zulu–Natal and the Western Cape, it lacks a majority in these provincial councils to unilaterally form regional administrations. This openness of the political process has made possible a significant degree of regional autonomy in a unitary system.
Political Geography:
Africa, South Africa, and Somalia

5. For the Record: International Crisis Group Report on Somaliland: An Alternative Somali Response

Author:
Ahmed I. Samatar and Abdi Ismail Samatar
Publication Date:
07-2005
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
The International Crisis Group's (ICG) most recent report on the Somali Republic deals with developments in the Northern region (Somaliland). It narrates what the informed knew all along: (a) that peace has been restored in most of the North for the past decade while the rest of the country, particularly Mogadishu and the southern third, are mired in violence; (b) that some semblance of constitutional order and administrative structure is in place; (c) that most of the public refused to accept naked force as a political instrument to deal with political problems; and (d) that corruption is pervasive among the political elite. Conceptually, the ICG report is divided into three parts. First, it provides a brief review of Somali political history. Second, it sketches the evolution of the region since the collapse of the Somali government in 1991 and the declaration of the region's breakaway status from the rest of the country. Finally, it focuses on three elections organized in the last three years, in order to buttress the claim that the region deserves to be recognized as a sovereign country. This information raises pivotal questions about the profile of the region as well as the fate of the Somali people. Together, these two points invite a timely, wide, and thoughtful debate among Somalis and others concerned. After serious cogitation upon the details of the document, we submit that the Report presents important points for the international community to come to the aid of the people of the region to consolidate their communal achievements—particularly in the areas of stability, economic advancement, and institution building. However, the Report fails to clinch the argument for international recognition of a new sovereign Somaliland state in the Horn of Africa. The rest of this critical assessment elucidates this proposition.
Political Geography:
Africa and Somalia

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