Somali Conflict Research Articles

A survey of laxoox/canjeero, a traditional Somali flatbread: production styles

Flatbreads are traditional food products of ancient origin, still produced and appreciated in their original locations and beyond, having spread through historical and modern migration. While the history and preparation of Somali flatbread, known as canjeero in southern regions and laxoox in northern regions, has been shared orally for generations among the women who cook it at home, it has not been the object of scientific studies. An in-field study was therefore carried out in various cities in Somalia, Somaliland, and Ethiopia’s Somali State to document the formulation, production methods, and consumption patterns of this Somali flatbread. Laxoox/canjeero production was found to be relatively homogenous, but the data revealed two significant divergences: in bread formulation and in the procedure for structure development. These divergences result from disparities in the mechanization of bread production between rural and urban, and from the destruction of infrastructure, including food processing machines in public markets, leading up to the Somali civil war. An original framework of four production styles (“heritage,” “new heritage,” “innovative,” and “global”) illustrates these divergences in detail. Heritage production is linked to the historic era of nomadic Somali pastoralism, while the other three styles originated in civil conflict and continue today.Graphical abstract

Educational inequality in the Kebribeyah Somali refugee camp in Ethiopia: an autoethnography

Due to the Somali Civil War of 1991, more than 10,000 Somali refugees resettled in Kebribeyah, a town in the Somali region of Ethiopia. For nearly three decades, the local and resettled refugee communities shared the resources the region had to offer, adopted a new common cultural norm, and fostered some levels of social cohesions. It is the education sector, however, that caused social conflicts and hatred between resettled Somalis and the native Somali-Ethiopians. Currently, the education of Somali refugee children is funded by various international organizations, such as the United Nations. On the contrary, the local Somali-Ethiopian children pay their way to schools which leads to poor educational experiences. Using autoethnography as the research method, this article examines the formation of educational gaps between the local and refugee children. Findings suggest that educational inequality can exist between refugee and host communities, if not properly managed, and can ultimately impact social cohesion and stability in the refugee-hosting regions.

Spatial Spillovers of Conflict in Somalia

Spatial Spillovers of Conflict in Somalia

The Economic Impacts of Banana Export’s Decline in Marka District Somalia

The objective of this study is to find out the economic impacts of banana export’s decline in Marka district, Somalia. Banana and its business is the backbone of the Somali economy. It is the second primary factor of Somali economy next to livestock and their production. For many reasons including Somali civil war and lack of security banana business exportation stopped, which caused very serious economic impacts to Somali society. Method: The study area was Marka district, which is the capital town of lower Shabelle region in Somalia. This study was descriptive research particularly cross-sectional survey used with planned questionnaire distributed to target respondents. The target population of the research was 60 persons consisting banana experts, farmers, Economists, and other banana exportation stakeholders. After calculation researcher received 52 persons through the use Slovene’s formula as a sample size. The sample procedure that researcher used for the study was non probability methods, specifically purposive sampling. The data analyzed method researcher used was descriptive statistics analysis, with mean and standard deviation, with SPSS version 16 application. Results of section two tables: This section comprises five factors that caused banana export’s decline in Marka, Somalia. They are Lack of security, Poor marketing; Lack of Infrastructure, Without Government facilities, and Land disputation Problems. As the table indicates majority (69.2%) of the respondents answered lack of security caused banana export’s decline. Such like that 48.1% of the respondents Agreed that Poor Marketing caused banana export’s decline in Marka, Somalia. And also 36.5% of the respondents were agreed that lack of Infrastructure caused banana export’s decline, while 42.3% of respondents were strongly agreed that Without Government facilities caused banana export’s decline in Marka, Somalia. Finally, 30.8% of the respondents refused or strongly disagreed that land disputation problems caused banana export’s decline in Marka, Somalia. Recommendations: Researcher of this study proposed the following recommendations to Somali Government, Somali people in general, particularly to banana farmers, Agronomists, Economists, and all banana stockholders. First to improve general security to Somali country, particularly banana farms area, Second to renew and improve previous banana markets, and search new markets for banana exportation, third to encourage banana farmers, in order to increase local production, Fourth to give investments to banana farmers, and fifth to enhance general infrastructure of the country, particularly to improve banana farms accessibility, such as roads between banana farms and their markets.

Conflict Dynamics between Two Neighbours: Looking Beyond Federalism

Ethiopia is a multicultural and multilingual country. The Oromo and Somali communities are found in the same linguistic community, that is, the Cushitic language. Historically, Somalis and Oromo have a long tradition of co-existence and strong socio-cultural interactions, as well as antagonistic relationships and intermittent conflicts. Traditionally, the major sources of conflict between the two communities were competition over scarce resources, territorial expansion, livestock raids and counter raids, kidnapping for marriage purposes and the revenge tradition. However, this time the conflict took a different nature, form and bigger scale causing devastation never seen in the history of communal conflict in the country. The study has utilised primary and secondary data collection and employed narration and content analysis to realise the objective of the paper. The findings of this study reveal that the causes of the Oromo–Somali conflict are complex and dynamic. This urges the need to carry out a deeper investigation beyond the federal arrangement. Thus, fundamental and triggering factors including the involvement of internal and external forces, the collapse of social norms and prevalence of moral anarchism, socio-economic issues, competing interests among public and military officials, poor leadership and governance system, competing interests over resources, aspects of local cultural institutions in regulating inter-ethnic relationships are identified in fuelling ethnic conflict in the studied area. Since the conflict in the region is much more complex than the dominant narrative of resource scarcity and ethnic politicisation, open democratic dialogue, genuine consultation and negotiation at a different level with various interest groups, stakeholders and community representatives, militant groups operating in the area is of paramount importance to ease the increasing ethnic tension and political crisis in order to build sustainable peace in the region.

Insurgent engagement with kinship group authorities: production of order and governance in Somalia’s Lower Jubba province

ABSTRACT This paper explores the interactions between Islamist insurgents and kinship-based communities in southern Somalia’s Lower Jubba province in the period of 2006–2012. It demonstrates how Islamist insurgents were able to manoeuvre in a complex sociopolitical landscape, distinguished by various clan and sub-clan groups, and establish a relatively stable and predictable system of order and governance unprecedented in the Somali Civil War. The insurgents’ success, this paper argues, rests on a combination of several related and simultaneous processes which all involved various levels of interactions between the Islamist rulers and local institutions. While the reformist-minded insurgents instilled fear through the application of violence, corporal punishment, and moral policing, they also displayed deep local knowledge, sensitivity, and a pragmatic approach to local institutions, successfully balancing the fine line between divisive ‘clan politics’ and the risk of alienating local power constellations.

Precarious spaces and violent site effects: experiences from Hargeisa’s urban margins

ABSTRACT This paper addresses precarity from a spatial perspective. It draws attention to how power becomes inscribed in urban space and shapes particular spatial arrangements connected with socio-economic vulnerabilities. This is empirically illustrated with a case study of Hargeisa, a city historically marked by the violence of the Somali civil war. Our analysis draws on interviews and participant photography, to foreground the ‘everyday’ experiences of residents living in the city’s marginal settlements. We point to the operations of power that produce political, economic and social deprivation but also agentic options for these residents who experience, cope with, struggle with and work against their marginalisation. Interconnecting precarity with geographies of violence, we elaborate the concept of ‘violent site-effects’ as a means to explain how power inscribed in spatial arrangements can cause harm to people. We emphasise violence as built into structures and as part of social orders that produce precarity. This, we argue, provides a basis on which to reflect on the dynamic ways in which inequality, insecurity and thus, vulnerabilities, are produced and reproduced in the processes of urban reconstruction.

Understanding Somali Conflict: Causes, Consequences and Strategies for Peace-Building

Over the past decades, Somalia has experienced civil wars, inter-clan conflicts, militias warlords, terrorism, and other several violent conflicts. These conflicts resulted in the deaths of many innocent civilians and destroyed the state institutions, structures, and trust in governance and consequently affected the agricultural production of the country, which resulted to nationwide famine. Thus, this article aims to critically understand the causes and consequences of the conflict in Somalia. It also aims to discuss opportunities and strategies for peacebuilding and reconstruction of Somalia. The article reveals that clan and clannism are the leading causes of Somalia’s destabilization. Furthermore, the article argues that radical extremism, corruption, the militarization of clan members, inequalities and extreme poverty, and massive youth unemployment are the most common factors that lead to Somalia's never ending conflict. On the other hand, this article examined that mass migration, extremism, the emergence of piracy, and the loss of Somali unity and nationalism are the results of the prolonged conflict. Moreover, the article found that the previous peacebuilding approaches such as the promotion of democracy, elections, free market-based reforms, and building local institutions combined with modern state standards adopted from the international community have failed to promote peace and stability in Somalia. Thus, this article recommends that social reconciliation should be held and led by the local people. This in return, we believe will help Somalia to restore peace, the rule of law and ensure long term stability. Keywords : Conflict, Peacebuilding Efforts, Somalia, Challenges, Prospects. DOI: 10.7176/DCS/11-3-05 Publication date: March 31 st 2021

Early Intervention against Desert Locusts: Current Proactive Approach and the Prospect of Sustainable Outbreak Prevention

The desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria (Forskål) (Orthoptera: Acrididae), a major Old World pest, is associated with agricultural losses and undesirable societal effects. There are three broad approaches to its control: reaction, proaction, and outbreak prevention. Reaction protects crops from swarms but it is costly and disruptive. Proaction involves early intervention during outbreaks to avert further development to plague status; it is in current use because it is effective, relatively inexpensive, and it is the best available option for now. Outbreak prevention, largely unavailable since the 1970s, at least on a regional scale, will require highly sensitive surveillance to detect the onset of gregarization. Sufficiently early intervention can, hypothetically, extend desert locust recession indefinitely. While research on desert locust biology and behavior is, almost, no longer an urgent requirement to improve the efficacy of control, new priorities have arisen for developing outbreak prevention capability (and for enhancing proaction). Salient needs presently include long residual tactics for prophylactic (preventive) control in breeding areas, intervention thresholds, and improved, sustainable coordination among stakeholders at national, regional, and international levels. The most recent desert locust episode of 2020 provides an illustrative example of how prevention might have averted the entire upsurge, and how proaction in some countries contained the spread of swarms. The initial outbreak in Saudi Arabia escaped control due to unpreparedness, and impacts of armed conflict in Somalia and Yemen, which weakened surveillance and control, further contributed to the invasion of ≥22 countries, and the spraying of ≈4.9 million ha, by the end of 2020.

Influences of Community Participation on School Infrastructure Policy Implementation and Performance of Construction Projects

Community participation has been used in the developing world as a fallback when government efforts to establish schools and education within communities fail or are inadequate. The study was conducted in Somaliland—a state in the horn of Africa that is in the process or rebuilding schools and reestablishing education after the wanton destruction of the education infrastructure during the Somali civil war. With a school infrastructure regulatory policy having been established to set standards for school infrastructure, the study examined how community participation influenced the effect of school infrastructure policy implementation on the performance of construction projects in public primary schools. The study was set in Somaliland and targeted all public primary school headteachers in all the administrative regions and District Education Officers (DEO) in all the Districts. A cross-sectional survey guided by pragmatism, the study collected data from 20 DEOs and 247 headteachers. Headteachers filled questionnaires while DEOs were interviewed. Primary schools that reported low levels of community participation also realized a positive influence of school infrastructure policy implementation on the performance of construction projects, while schools that reported moderate and high levels of community participation did not. Community participation doesn’t only bring positive influences to projects but negative influences as well. Community participation has a significant low and negative partial moderation effect on the relationship between school infrastructure policy implementation and performance of construction projects. A linear model exists among the three variables.

Trapped in Violence and Uncertainty: Patriarchy, Women, and the Conflict in Somalia

Trapped in Violence and Uncertainty: Patriarchy, Women, and the Conflict in Somalia

Humanitarian intervention (HI) and the responsibility to protect (R2P): The United Nations and international security

ABSTRACT Humanitarian intervention has undergone several changes since the Second World War and the justifications behind it are continually expanding and being reshaped as a result of the interventions performed to resolve the conflicts in Somalia, Bosnia, Rwanda, Sudan and Kosovo, as well as a result of the emerging post-9/11 paradigm. Humanitarian intervention, while open to many different definitions, is generally understood as the use of both hard and soft power across state borders by external forces with the goal of preventing or obstructing gross human rights violations without the permission of the state within whose territory force is utilised. Overall, this paper is an investigation into the topic of humanitarian intervention. However, it is primarily an investigation into the most recent manifestation of humanitarian intervention, the responsibility to protect and its failures, in sovereignty, morality, and legality in the context of the United Nations as the ‘Guardian Angel of Global Security’.

Mogadiscio's Unenlightened Pilgrim: Farah's “Links,” Dante's “Inferno,” and the Somali Civil War

Abstract This article explores the narrative strategies employed in Nuruddin Farah's novel, Links, for representing the aftermath of civil conflict in Somalia. Specifically, it examines the novel's many self-conscious references to its own narrative discourse in creating the story of Jeebleh and his return to Mogadiscio. Three specific examples of this dialectic between story and discourse are considered. First, with reference to John Freccero's notion of “infernal irony,” the intertextual references to Dante's Inferno are shown to affect our understanding of Jeebleh's journey and the environment he moves in. Second, the narrator's use of Somali language elements is explored. Several examples are considered, including the narrator's use of proverbs, folktales, and Somali nicknames. Rather than reflecting the novel's imagined cultural environment, these elements are shown to reflect back on the narrator's efforts at creating a story. Finally, the resolution of the story's central conflict is evaluated in terms of the destabilizing effect of the novel's self-referential narrative. It is shown that, ultimately, the signs and symbols of the novel's “hellish” environment do not offer meanings that transcend the limits of the environment itself. In other words, the novel can show us the civil conflict as a sort of hell, but it can offer no pathway out.

Conflict and Revolution in the Horn of Africa: Somali Republic in Focus

This paper is typically focused on the issue of conflict and revolution in Somali. As an introduction it tries to explore the historical trajectories in Africa in general and Somali in particular. The paper narrates the development of Somali conflict since the early 1990s. The central emphasis is that what causes attract Somali in to these long ranged civil war and chaos. The paper argued that competition for power and resources, the colonial legacy and state repression were the long-term causes of the Somali conflict. It also deals with the adversarial relationship in the country which are the leading actors in the conflict; the roles that regional and international organizations as well as isolated sovereign states to mitigate the problem; interests of third parties in the conflict like USA, Ethiopia, Kenya, Eritrea and so on. Finally, the paper tried to present the probable future of Somalia from scholar’s point of view and expectations from Somali. Keywords: Somalia, Conflict, Revolution, Civil War DOI: 10.7176/IAGS/87-02 Publication date: October 31 st 2020

Inter-Clan Conflicts in Somalia: When Peace Happen (Case Study Baidoa District, Bay Region)

Various clans in Bay region have had conflicts over time onwards with the pastoral communities taking the lead. More specifically, Baidoa district has been registered several inter-clan conflicts within Digil and Mirifle tribe and sub tribes fighting over resources and political issues. This paper examines Inter-Clan Conflicts in Somalia with special reference to Baidoa district community. The study used descriptive research design. The target populations of this study were communities in Baidoa district. The study distributed questionnaire and purposive sampling due to security issue with 103 respondents of male and female who were more familiar with the background of inter-clan conflicts in Baidoa district. The data analyzed with SPSS version of 16.0. The findings show that land ownership dispute, pastures, water, and political power sharing and many other subjects are the major drivers of the inter-clan conflict amongst the communities in Baidoa district. Besides, the results also revealed that lack of rule of law and uncontrollable urbanization including internal displaced people has been frontline frequently rising of inter-clan conflicts due to occupying illegal lands without getting any permission by the land owner/state and many other unmanaged matters are still exist in Baidoa. Currently, the security situation in Baidoa district is quite good but not reliable because of Baidoa outskirts is under control of Al-Shabab militant. Peace is the heart and pillar upon with every life’s meaningful progress, security and social harmonize could be reach and continued in each nation’s life.

Keeping Financial System Clean: Suppressing Terrorist Infiltration of Money or Value Transfer Services in East Africa

This article is about understanding the vulnerability of money or value transfer services (MVTS) to terrorist infiltration in East Africa. The author also analyzes the penetration of money transfer services (MVTS) by criminals and their concealment of income as a result of criminal acts. It also examines some of the causal factors of terrorism in the East African region (EA) and describes some effective and comprehensive law enforcement measures aimed at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the fight against terrorism in the region. The article describes how civil conflicts in the EA region have led to a lack of banking services, which in turn has made EA vulnerable to terrorist financing, further amplified by conflicts in the region that have led to internal and external displacement of migrant communities, societies, and families that rely heavily on transferring funds to dependents. The author examines the consequences of the endless civil war in Somalia by Al-Shabab and how it has led to spread of terrorism and related terrorist financing to neighboring countries. Most of those countries do not have strong anti-money laundering / terrorist financing (AML/CFT) systems. Financial services such as mobile money, Forex bureaus, and other are exposed to high levels of terrorist financing risk in the EA economy. The author goes on to explain how a weak AML / CFT system has led to difficulties or loss of access to International currency markets, and the pressure on relevant banking relationships has in turn undermined and affected the long-term growth prospects and financial accessibility of countries. This led to an increase in the cost of financial services, which negatively affected the banking ratings. Further the author considers the threat to internal and financial stability from criminal activity – in particular, the significant level of tax crimes (value-added fraud and tax evasion) that affect the flow of government revenue, thereby impeding institutional development. This article also highlights how EA member States, through the FATF regional anti-money laundering authority in Eastern and Southern Africa (ESAAMLG), should improve guidelines, strategies and capabilities, such as risk assessment, which is the basis of the MVTS provider’s risk-based approach. They should help money transfer providers understand how and to what extent their services are vulnerable to ML / TF.

Role of Federal Government in Managing Conflicts: Somalia

This study is undertaken to critically underline the role of government in managing the conflicts, most notably the federal government of Somalia. The undergone research also discusses the prolonged Somali conflict and options for the conflict resolutions with the available roles for the federal government of Somalia during any conflict. The study finds that the previous conflict resolutions of Somalia were unsuccessful as most of the conflicts exist till today. The role of federal government is limited to the Somali peace processes and conferences with the ethnic motivated perceptions. As a result, the study concludes that the federal government of Somalia is perceived by the public as involved in the conflicts. Thus, in order to eliminate the prolonged Somali conflict, it is suggested to formulate strong federal agencies to prevent any possible conflict in future, besides employing community based conflict resolution mechanisms.

AN ASSESSMENT ROLE OF AMISOM IN THE PEACEBUILDING PROCESS IN SOMALIA: A STUDY

Purpose of the study: The aim of this study is to examine the role of AMISOM in Somalia's peacebuilding process in terms of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) and reconciliation among Somali clans.
 Methodology: This study uses a descriptive design with document analysis to attain the research objectives. Secondary data is used. The data are collected from books, articles, journals, and literature on peacebuilding.
 Main findings: The results show that AMISOM has no significant role in disarming, demobilizing, and reintegrating clan militias into communities. The AMISOM reconciliation process has not succeeded to bring Somalis together to determine how key issues are negotiated.
 Application of this study: This research is useful for peacebuilding practitioners and government/policymakers in identifying the drivers, causes of armed conflicts in Somalia.
 Novelty and originality: While other studies focused on the impact of power-sharing in rebuilding the Somalia government, the present study examines the impact of DDR, tailored with reconciliation in clan co-existence and silencing clan conflicts.

AN ASSESSMENT ROLE OF AMISOM IN THE PEACEBUILDING PROCESS IN SOMALIA: A STUDY

Purpose of the study: The aim of this study is to examine the role of AMISOM in Somalia's peacebuilding process in terms of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR) and reconciliation among Somali clans. Methodology: This study uses a descriptive design with document analysis to attain the research objectives. Secondary data is used. The data are collected from books, articles, journals, and literature on peacebuilding. Main findings: The results show that AMISOM has no significant role in disarming, demobilizing, and reintegrating clan militias into communities. The AMISOM reconciliation process has not succeeded to bring Somalis together to determine how key issues are negotiated. Application of this study: This research is useful for peacebuilding practitioners and government/policymakers in identifying the drivers, causes of armed conflicts in Somalia. Novelty and originality: While other studies focused on the impact of power-sharing in rebuilding the Somalia government, the present study examines the impact of DDR, tailored with reconciliation in clan co-existence and silencing clan conflicts.

Profiting from the failed state of Somalia: the violent political marketplace and insecurity in contemporary Mogadishu

ABSTRACT This article examines the entanglement of insecurity profiteering and the emergence of the profitable violent political marketplace in southern Somalia. Reinforcing the recent research into secretive dealings of the securitisation of the Somali capital city of Mogadishu, it is argued that the war economy has prolonged armed conflict and insecurity in Somalia in a way that is more complicated than has been assumed. Given the internal/external dimension of the Somali conflict which tends to tailor internal actors with external actors in a deeply entrenched modus operandi, the economisation of southern Somalia’s insecurity has created a politically profitable space that prolongs the armed conflict and exacerbates insecurity to generate income and excavate revenues from international aid. As the state collapsed, powerful money-oriented ‘business’ people who have been determined by the ambition to profit from conflict carved out profitable spaces to generate illicit income out of the prolonged insecurity. Whilst the government authorities claim credit for growing societal development projects, Mogadishu has nominally recovered mainly because of the economic activities carried out by diasporic Somalis. Drawing from a long durée approach, the article introduces the various ways in which the contemporary war economy started from the Cold War experience and influenced the insecurity in Mogadishu. The article is devoted to deepening our understanding of why the war-torn capital city remains fragile and volatile in terms of security for a long time. It proposes an alternative understanding of the complicated security situation in conflict-ridden southern Somalia by contextualising the nuances of what is currently happening in Mogadishu. The article finally contributes to the existing studies of armed conflicts and war economies in the context of failed states and war profiteering.