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121. E Pluribus Unum: 21st-Century Citizenship and the Somali-American Experience

Author:
Owen Truesdell
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
This moment in American history represents a confluence of major national and international events almost unparalleled in modern history. The United States faces two major wars, a massive and seemingly intractable recession that has robbed many of its citizens of their livelihoods and savings, and a sclerotic system of American government that seems to have lost its ability to take on and overcome big challenges for the good of the American people. Internationally, the “Arab Spring” in the Middle East has led to the toppling of feckless dictators and a move toward democracy in Egypt. However, it has also led to the deaths of thousands of civilians, further political repression in certain parts of the region, and a civil war in Libya, which also features military action by NATO and the United States and its Arab and Western allies. This chaotic and troubling time presents numerous challenges for the United States and the world.
Topic:
NATO
Political Geography:
United States, America, Middle East, Libya, Arabia, Egypt, and Somalia

122. The Ohio State University K–12 Teacher Somali Workshop Project

Author:
Leslie Moore and Laura Joseph
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
In July 2009, the Ohio State University held its first weeklong intensive teacher workshop on Somali history, language, and culture. The workshop was the heart of a larger project to create resources for educators who work with Somali children, youth, and families. Over the course of a year the authors developed the workshop in collaboration with sponsoring agencies; Somali Studies scholars; local school district teachers and administrators; and local Somali artists, educators, students, and community organizers. The workshop was designed to provide an overview of Somali history, language, and culture while focusing on topics that were identified by stakeholders and by the authors as particularly relevant to educational practice.
Political Geography:
Somalia

123. Charter Schools: Choice of Somali-American Parents?

Author:
Farhan Hussein
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
Most of the Somali community in the United Stated came here after civil war broke out in Somalia in 1991. During the war, hundreds of thousands of people fled to neighboring countries where many received resettlement aid from yet other countries, including the United States. The largest Somali community in the United States lives in Minnesota, mainly in the Minneapolis area.
Topic:
War
Political Geography:
United States, America, and Somalia

124. Somali Parent-Child Conflict in the Western World: Some Brief Reflections

Author:
Amin Mohamed and Ahmed Yusuf
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
According to UNICEF, there are about 14.5 million refugees, of whom 41 percent are believed to be children under age 18. It is also estimated that 1.5 billion children (two-thirds of the world's child population) live in 42 countries that are affected by violent and high intensity conflict. Among these is Somalia, a country without a central government since 1991, and suffering a never-ending cycle of hostilities. As a result, Somali parents, along with their children, are scattered all over the world for safety reasons and for a better future for their children.
Topic:
Government
Political Geography:
Somalia

125. European Union Training Mission in Somalia and the Limits of Liberal Peacebuilding: Can EUTM Contribute to Sustainable and Inclusive Peace?

Author:
Kseniya Oksamytna
Publication Date:
12-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
The International Spectator
Institution:
Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:
After gaining sad notoriety as a pirate heaven in 2008, Somalia again made head-lines in summer2011as the area worst affected by the East African drought. The areas under the control of Al Shabaab, a radical Islamist group that is fighting the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), are suffering from famine while the group is reluctant to grant access to humanitarian agencies. In this political climate, the EU took the decision on 28 July 2011 to extend its mission to contribute to the training of the Somali Security Forces for another 12 months.
Political Geography:
Europe and Somalia

126. Great Expectations: UN Peacekeeping, Civilian Protection, and the Use of Force

Author:
Alan Doss
Publication Date:
12-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Abstract:
The proliferation of intra-state conflicts in the post-Cold War era has led to a substantial increase in the number of United Nations (UN) peacekeeping operations, resulting in the creation of forty-eight peacekeeping missions since 1990. The unprecedented challenges faced in the 1990's – and in particular, the failures in Rwanda, Srebrenica, and Somalia – obliged the UN to revisit and rethink its peacekeeping strategies.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Security, Cold War, United Nations, and Peacekeeping
Political Geography:
Rwanda and Somalia

127. International Engagement with Somalia

Author:
Stephanie Schwartz
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
The Ethiopian invasion of Somalia in 2006, supported by the U.S, had the unintentional consequence of fueling splinter insurgent groups including Al-Shabab and Hizbul Islam. Currently Somalia faces a humanitarian crisis with 3.6 million people displaced. Countering the insurgency and alleviating the humanitarian crisis in Somalia demands a creative rethinking of international policy. While the 2008 Dijbouti Accord created a more inclusive Transitional Federal Government (TFG), the international community must weigh whether continued support for the TFG will bring real progress in governance or if it will strengthen popular support for the insurgency. If the international community sees support for the TFG as beneficial, they could consider policies including: Flooding Somalia with development aid and investing in civil society; Expanding the African Union (AU) peacekeeping mission to include representation from other Muslim countries; Finding creative solutions for inter-Somali governance and reconciliation. If the international community calculates that support for the TFG is not beneficial because it will only fuel the insurgency, they should consider a policy of "constructive disengagement," withdrawing support from the TFG and the AU peacekeeping mission, while simultaneously investing in local and regional development projects.
Topic:
Political Violence, Terrorism, and Fragile/Failed State
Political Geography:
Africa, United States, China, Ethiopia, and Somalia

128. Peace-Building without External Assistance: Lessons from Somaliland

Author:
Nicholas Eubank
Publication Date:
01-2010
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Center for Global Development
Abstract:
Since its secession from Somalia in 1991, the east-African nation of Somaliland has become one of the most democratic governments in eastern Africa. Yet Somaliland has never been recognized by the international community. This paper examines how this lack of recognition—and the consequent ineligibility for foreign financial assistance—has shaped Somaliland's political development. It finds evidence that Somaliland's ineligibility for foreign aid facilitated the development of accountable political institutions and contributed to the willingness of Somalilanders to engage constructively in the state-building process.
Topic:
Development and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:
Africa and Somalia

129. On the transformation of warfare: a plausibility probe of the new war thesis

Author:
Monika Heupel and Bernhard Zangl
Publication Date:
03-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of International Relations and Development
Institution:
Central and East European International Studies Association
Abstract:
This article intends to contribute to the debate on the emergence of so-called new wars by reconstructing the new war thesis in a way that allows an empirical assessment of the plausibility of the thesis. It makes explicit the defining criteria implicit to the new war thesis which claims that a fundamental transformation of modern intra-state warfare has taken place due to the end of the Cold War. It also lays out the causal mechanisms that underpin the alleged transformation of warfare. Based on the reconstructed conceptual framework and drawing on case studies of the wars in Cambodia, Afghanistan, Angola, Somalia and Sierra Leone, the article then lends support to the new war thesis. The cases demonstrate that, in the 1990s, war economies based on criminal activities became more important and triggered the fragmentation of warring parties and the economisation of their war motives. Moreover, in combination, the fragmentation of warring parties and the economisation of their war motives facilitate the application of brutal violence against civilians.
Topic:
Cold War and Debt
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Angola

130. British and Somali Views of Muhammad Abdullah Hassan's 'Jihad,' 1899-1920

Author:
John P. Slight
Publication Date:
12-2010
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
Since the start of Hassan's jihad against unbelievers and insufficiently pious Muslims in 1899, the “Cinderella of the Empire” had suffered terribly. Hassan's jihad caused “universal perdition,” with an estimated 200,000 deaths over twenty years in a territory of three million people. An estimated 30,000 alone died in three years as the result of internecine warfare after the British decided the cost of keeping the “Mad Mullah” in check was too burdensome and withdrew to the coast in 1909. The withdrawal led Hassan to resume raiding Somali tribes in the protectorate. This, coupled with the British policy of arming these tribes to fend for themselves, contributed to the death toll. Hassan was condemned by the British, but a few of the same observers also grudgingly admired his determination and sustained resistance to imperial power.
Political Geography:
United Kingdom and Somalia