Wars in the Horn of Africa and the dismantling of the Somali State
Somalia was an artificial colonial construct and had no depth of state formation. Although supposedly homogenous, its clan families operate as independent entities and the reality of any Somali commitment to a single state must be questioned. Under the stresses of military defeat against Ethiopia, a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Instituto Universitário de Lisboa
2002-05-01
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| Series: | Cadernos de Estudos Africanos |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.openedition.org/cea/1280 |
| _version_ | 1797311858684723200 |
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| author | Patrick Gilkes |
| author_facet | Patrick Gilkes |
| author_sort | Patrick Gilkes |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Somalia was an artificial colonial construct and had no depth of state formation. Although supposedly homogenous, its clan families operate as independent entities and the reality of any Somali commitment to a single state must be questioned. Under the stresses of military defeat against Ethiopia, and a failed socialist revolution, and the resurrection of «clanism», it fell apart in the late 1980s. Subsequent international efforts to rebuild the state of Somalia have failed because the international community has ignored the realities of Somalia clan politics. The only area to succeed in restoring political structures is Somaliland, basing itself upon one particular clan family; its attempts have rejected internationally, despite having provided a clear, and successful, model for the rest of Somalia. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T02:05:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-8b13808c64c447b4b522550be68b4fd7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1645-3794 2182-7400 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T02:05:52Z |
| publishDate | 2002-05-01 |
| publisher | Instituto Universitário de Lisboa |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Cadernos de Estudos Africanos |
| spelling | doaj.art-8b13808c64c447b4b522550be68b4fd72024-02-13T15:51:44ZengInstituto Universitário de LisboaCadernos de Estudos Africanos1645-37942182-74002002-05-0128910210.4000/cea.1280Wars in the Horn of Africa and the dismantling of the Somali StatePatrick GilkesSomalia was an artificial colonial construct and had no depth of state formation. Although supposedly homogenous, its clan families operate as independent entities and the reality of any Somali commitment to a single state must be questioned. Under the stresses of military defeat against Ethiopia, and a failed socialist revolution, and the resurrection of «clanism», it fell apart in the late 1980s. Subsequent international efforts to rebuild the state of Somalia have failed because the international community has ignored the realities of Somalia clan politics. The only area to succeed in restoring political structures is Somaliland, basing itself upon one particular clan family; its attempts have rejected internationally, despite having provided a clear, and successful, model for the rest of Somalia.https://journals.openedition.org/cea/1280conflictstate formationSomalia |
| spellingShingle | Patrick Gilkes Wars in the Horn of Africa and the dismantling of the Somali State Cadernos de Estudos Africanos conflict state formation Somalia |
| title | Wars in the Horn of Africa and the dismantling of the Somali State |
| title_full | Wars in the Horn of Africa and the dismantling of the Somali State |
| title_fullStr | Wars in the Horn of Africa and the dismantling of the Somali State |
| title_full_unstemmed | Wars in the Horn of Africa and the dismantling of the Somali State |
| title_short | Wars in the Horn of Africa and the dismantling of the Somali State |
| title_sort | wars in the horn of africa and the dismantling of the somali state |
| topic | conflict state formation Somalia |
| url | https://journals.openedition.org/cea/1280 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT patrickgilkes warsinthehornofafricaandthedismantlingofthesomalistate |