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211. The United Nations, the Cold War, and After: A Lost Opportunity?

Author:
Christopher D. O'Sullivan
Publication Date:
05-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Columbia International Affairs Online
Abstract:
The conclusion of the Cold War between 1989-1991 opened new horizons for the United Nations and created expectations that the UN would emerge from the margins of world events to the focus of world politics. But many events since then -- in Somalia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Iraq -- have undermined confidence in international institutions. A history of the UN's activities since the end of the East-West conflict conjures up names of recent infamy, such as Sarajevo, Mogadishu, Kigali, and Srebrenica, and revisits images of failure and impotence in the face of violence. These crises undermined much of the optimism that greeted the end of the Cold War at the United Nations. The founding dream in 1945 of a community of nations defending human rights and promoting collective security still seems as far from being realized as it did during the height of the Cold War.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, International Relations, Cold War, Politics, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Iraq, Bosnia, Rwanda, and Somalia

212. Migrant Transfers as a Development Tool: The Case of Somaliland

Author:
Peter Hansen
Publication Date:
10-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Danish Institute for International Studies
Abstract:
This paper examines the relationship between migration and development in the contest of Somaliland, where an estimated 25-40 per cent of the population receive regular remittances from abroad. The importance of remittances to the local economy and the impact of diaspora activities on local development are the main focus of the paper. In distinguishing four main waves of migration the paper presents a short history of the formation of the Somali diaspora. The paper also estimates the volume, importance and social distribution of individual and collective remittances to Somaliland. Finally the paper gives an overview of the functioning financial institutions in Somaliland and identifies the challenges ahead for an economy that is heavily dependent on remittances.
Topic:
Development, Human Welfare, and Migration
Political Geography:
Africa and Somalia

213. Foreword

Author:
Ahmed I. Samatar and Lidwien Kapteijns
Publication Date:
07-2004
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
This issue of Bildhaan is dedicated to some of the commissioned proceedingsof an international conference, “Somalis in America: TheChallenges of Adaptation,” which was held at Macalester College, July15–17, 2004.
Political Geography:
America and Somalia

214. Educating Immigrant Youth in the United States: An Exploration of the Somali Case

Author:
Lidwien Kapteijns and Abukar Arman
Publication Date:
07-2004
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
Becoming “a diasporic people, blasted from one history into another,” is a great tragedy. However, in the heart of the storm, new opportunities and new dangers are born. The Somalis today constitute a complex transnational set of communities fanning out from Somalia and spanning the globe from Australia to Western Europe and North America. The Somali diaspora consists of individuals (and groups) who arrived and were received in a wide range of host societies at different times and in different ways, bringing with them the social, cultural, and political divisions of back home. All this has been exacerbated by the divisive legacy of the civil war (1978–present). Even after resettlement Somalis do not sit still. Instead, they are characterized by continuous movement within the diaspora. The complex set of communities resulting from these histories is also unique, as they shared life—however imperfectly and at times unequally—in Somalia.
Political Geography:
Australia, North America, Somalia, and Western Europe

215. Experiences of Somali Entrepreneurs in the Twin Cities

Author:
Hussein M Samatar
Publication Date:
07-2004
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
There is a universal belief among Somali entrepreneurs in the Twin Cities that they can become rich very quickly; therefore, they need to hurry up and start their business so they can get to the Promised Land and strike a fortune in the process. This sometimes leads to jumping into business without thinking it through. There is no question that Somali entrepreneurs are ambitious and hardworking people. Some of them work more than sixteen hours a day in a full-time job and at the same time run their own business. What they have accomplished in less than ten years is quite remarkable. Somali entrepreneurs and other new immigrants, such as Latinos and Asians, are overwhelmingly responsible for revitalizing old and neglected commercial corridors in south Minneapolis, such as Nicollet Avenue and Lake Street, and University Avenue in Saint Paul.
Political Geography:
Asia and Somalia

216. Transactions with Homeland: Remittance

Author:
Saad A. Shire
Publication Date:
07-2004
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
According to the English dictionary, “to remit” means to send money. But nowadays the term remittance seems to have assumed a more specific significance. It is very much used to mean money sent back to the home country by migrants. Since the Somali community is part of a wider international migrant community, I would like to start my presentation with some myths and facts about migrants in general in order to put into perspective the Somali case, the subject of this conference.
Political Geography:
Somalia

217. Appendix

Publication Date:
07-2004
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Bildhaan: An International Journal of Somali Studies
Institution:
Macalester College
Abstract:
Among the enormous costs of the civil strife and the demise of Somali national institutions is the exodus of hundreds of thousands of people who have sought refuge in almost every continent. A large portion of those in flight have found succor in North America, particularly the United States, with the state of Minnesota as an epicenter. As was the case with others who fled their native lands, the degree of success of all arrivals to settle in the new environment depends on two interconnected processes: the construction of adaptive individual/ collective identities fit for the new time, and the willingness of the receiving communities to embrace cultural diversity, within a national framework, in the perennial remaking of America.
Political Geography:
America, North America, and Somalia

218. Somaliland: Democratisation and Its Discontents

Publication Date:
07-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
Recent developments have made the choice faced by the international community considerably clearer: develop pragmatic responses to Somaliland's demand for self-determination or continue to insist upon the increasingly abstract notion of the unity and territorial integrity of the Somali Republic - a course of action almost certain to open a new chapter in the Somali civil war.
Topic:
Conflict Prevention, Democratization, International Cooperation, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
North Africa and Somalia

219. Negotiating a Blueprint for Peace in Somalia

Publication Date:
03-2003
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
The peace process in Somalia is at a critical point. Talks that began with great promise are in danger of collapsing unless the mediators, the international community and the Somali factions themselves provide stronger leadership. The Somali public's flagging interest and support for the process needs to be revived, and improvements are required in the negotiating process or the parties will be unable to tackle the many difficult outstanding issues. Unfortunately, the international community has remained reluctant to throw its full weight behind the peace talks, to take a tough line with those who are undermining it or generally to express a unified position on preferred outcomes.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, International Cooperation, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
North Africa and Somalia

220. Salvaging Somalia's Chance For Peace

Publication Date:
12-2002
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
On 27 October 2002, Somali political leaders gathered in the Kenyan town of Eldoret signed a new declaration that envisages an end to the protracted crisis in their country. After more than a decade as the only country in the world totally devoid of a functioning central government and no less than twenty unsuccessful national-level peace initiatives since 1991, the Eldoret Declaration has raised hopes that resolution of the Somali crisis may now be within reach.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Civil War, International Cooperation, and Treaties and Agreements
Political Geography:
Kenya, North Africa, and Somalia