“Self-Government now” had been the outspoken declaration of many African leaders in the aftermath of second world war. The broader historical context opened a window for African countries to achieve statehood and new self-determination independent from war ridden European colonial powers. At the Horn of Africa and the neighbouring regions, similarly to the overall trend on the continent, countries became independent. Ethiopia gained first home rule in 1941, Somalia 1960 during the so called year of Africa, Sudan 1956 and Kenya in 1963.
Yet, the new right of self-governance jointly with the difficult colonial heritage brought numerous new problems to African societies. Leaders faced new challenges to transform their territories to progressive and prosperous nation states bringing African countries modernity. However, many of the territories given independence found their way into state failure. As Collier (2007) points out in his book „The bottom billion“ that global poverty is actually falling quite rapidly for about 80% of the world. The real crisis is to be found in a group of about 50 failing states, whose problems challenge traditional approaches to reduce poverty.
He argues that 50 failed states pose the central challenge of the developing world in the twenty-first century. On that account the phenomenon of failed states needs considerable investigation effort by scholars. One especially extreme case of state failure is Somalia. It is this African country, which had become the epitome of a failed state, such frequently quoted, mentioned and discussed in literature like hardly any other. Somalia attained an unknown level of media coverage when the US-led mission UNOSOM in 1992 delivered food and aid to Somalia culminating in the shot down of US Helicopters over Mogadishu by troops of General Mohamed Farrah Aideed, which led to an immediate withdrawal of US troops in October 1993.
Table of Contents
I. INTRODUCTION
II. CASE SELECTION AND METHOD
III. CONCEPTS OF STATE FAILURE
IV. THE ERA OF SIYAD BARRRÉ
V. CONCLUSIONS & INTERPRETATION
Research Objectives and Themes
This paper aims to examine the explanatory power of existing theoretical concepts regarding state failure by applying them to the specific case of Somalia. The study focuses on the governance of Siyad Barré and explores how the intersection of international Cold War politics and domestic political structures led to the collapse of the Somali state.
- The role of Cold War geopolitics in shaping the Somali state.
- The impact of clientelism and corruption on political institutions.
- Theoretical perspectives on state failure (Zartman vs. Reno).
- The significance of clan dynamics and militarization of the economy.
- The failure of international humanitarian interventions.
Excerpt from the Book
IV. The era of Siyad Barré and the state collapse
Before the era Barre began, Somalia possessed a democratic system allowing for parties (1961-1969). This was the time of the Democratic Republic of Somalia (Walls 2009: p. 372). However, the parties had been based on lineage sometimes only presenting a single candidate. In order to participate in spoils members of parliament (MPs) had to be part of the government. Thus, elected MPs defected en masse to the government party. In the last democratic election only one member of parliament remained in opposition (Lewis, 2002: p. 179 sekundär).
As a consequence the de facto single party system made it for the party in government, the Somali Youth League (SYL) impossible to deal with the different factions and interests within the party (Englehart 2007: p.138). The integrating power required simply did not exist within the SYL. When Siyaad Barre, a military general, came to power with a coup in 1969, Somalis welcomed the new regime in the beginnig. Considering the SYL’s level of corruption and its inability to govern, Somalis had been tired of the ancient system and thus of the democratic single party state (Murphy 2011: p. 43). The entire parliamentary system was reduced to a system of spoils and provision, where these parts of society were excluded that did not possess close links to the leading caste (Bongartz 1991: p. 29). Taking this into account it came less of a surprise that Somalis warmthly welcomed the new regime hoping it would not squander resources and the new governement´s performance fostered signals of hope like the introduction of Somali languange on a latin based system among others (Abdi 1998: p. 8).
Summary of Chapters
I. INTRODUCTION: Outlines the historical context of African independence post-WWII and identifies Somalia as a primary case study for understanding the phenomenon of the failed state.
II. CASE SELECTION AND METHOD: Describes the methodological framework, specifically the use of congruence analysis and the extreme case study approach to evaluate theories of state failure.
III. CONCEPTS OF STATE FAILURE: Reviews literature on state failure, contrasting traditional notions of legitimacy with newer models focusing on rulers, elites, and external resource dependence.
IV. THE ERA OF SIYAD BARRRÉ: Analyzes the political evolution of Somalia from democratic beginnings to military rule, detailing the impact of clanism, foreign aid, and the loss of the Ogaden war.
V. CONCLUSIONS & INTERPRETATION: Synthesizes the theoretical findings, arguing that both Zartman’s and Reno’s models offer complementary insights into the collapse of the Somali state.
Keywords
Somalia, State failure, Siyad Barré, Cold War, Clanism, Political legitimacy, Warlordism, Congruence analysis, International intervention, Clientelism, Nation-state, Political violence, Resource dependence, Governance, Institutional collapse.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the core subject of this research?
The work investigates the causes and mechanisms of the Somali state collapse, analyzing the transition from a post-colonial nation-state to a failed state during the era of Siyad Barré.
What are the primary thematic fields?
The central themes include the interplay between domestic clan-based politics, the influence of international Cold War dynamics, and the economic reliance on foreign aid.
What is the main research question?
The research seeks to determine which theoretical concepts of state failure are most effective in explaining the collapse of Somalia and how these models can be applied to its specific historical context.
Which scientific method is utilized?
The paper employs a qualitative extreme case study method combined with a congruence analysis, as developed by Blatter and Blume, to test the validity of existing political science theories.
What topics are discussed in the main body?
The main body covers the transition from democratic governance to military rule, the influence of pan-Somali nationalism, the impact of the Ogaden war, and the systematic instrumentalization of clan divisions.
Which keywords define this study?
Key terms include Somalia, state failure, Siyad Barré, clanism, warlordism, and political legitimacy.
How does the "clan-clatura" concept characterize the Barre regime?
The term, coined by Hussein Adam, describes the regime's reliance on clan identity rather than ideology to maintain power, essentially turning the state apparatus into a vehicle for clan-based patronage.
What role did foreign aid play in the failure of the Somali state?
Foreign aid acted as a double-edged sword; it provided the regime with relative independence from its own citizens, which reduced the need for government responsiveness and fueled corruption and clientelism.
Why does the author consider the case of Somalia "extreme"?
Somalia is viewed as an extreme case because it represents an almost complete breakdown of state functions and a dramatic example of total state failure, which provides a rigorous test for existing theoretical models.
- Arbeit zitieren
- Christian Rabe (Autor:in), 2011, Anatomy of a State Collapse. Somalia, the Cold War and the era of Siyad Barré, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/269606
