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Beyond Polarity: Negotiating a Hybrid State in Somaliland

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  • Michael Walls
  • Steve Kibble

Abstract

Many African states struggle to reconcile traditional social institutions with the precepts of nation-state democracy within colonially defined borders. Since the 1991 fall of the dictatorial Somali regime of Siyaad Barre, Somaliland has gradually pieced together what appear to be a durable peace and an increasingly sophisticated, constitutionally based nation-state democracy. It is still negotiating the relationship between identity, nation and territory in which there is a differential commitment to democracy between the political elite and the wider population. Accommodation between a clan-based social structure and a representative democracy has been enabled by local socio-cultural traditions. External intervention, while minimal, has on occasion proved fruitful in providing a way out of crises. The territory has escaped the violence and political breakdown experienced in Southern Somali areas. This contribution argues that the remarkable resilience of the present socio-political system in Somaliland is challenged by present and forthcoming problems in the fields of democratic representation ( inter alia of women), delivery of public goods, a fragile sub-regional context and foreign investment.

Suggested Citation

  • Michael Walls & Steve Kibble, 2010. "Beyond Polarity: Negotiating a Hybrid State in Somaliland," Africa Spectrum, Institute of African Affairs, GIGA German Institute of Global and Area Studies, Hamburg, vol. 45(1), pages 31-56.
    • Handle: RePEc:gig:afjour:v:45:y:2010:i:1:p:31-56
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    File URL: http://hup.sub.uni-hamburg.de/giga/afsp/article/view/247
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Anna Lindley, 2007. "Remittances in Fragile Settings: a Somali Case Study," HiCN Working Papers 27, Households in Conflict Network.
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    Cited by:

    1. Viliam Pajtinka, 2013. "Širší pohľad na atribúty zlyhania štátu v Somálsku," Almanach (Actual Issues in World Economics and Politics), Ekonomická univerzita, Fakulta medzinárodných vzťahov, vol. 8(1), pages 38-53.
    2. Tahir, Abdifatah Ismael, 2022. "Legal pluralism, obscure reforms and adjudication of land conflicts in Hargeisa, Somaliland," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).

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    Keywords

    Nation and State Building;

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