History of Somalia: Pre-colonial, Colonial and Post Colonial

Published Date: 06 Mar 2018

Chapter 1

Introduction

The work pertains to the pre-colonial colonial and post colonial history of Somalia and the factors it does contain leading to the collapse of the state of Somalia. Furthermore research will demonstrate the fall out of the failure on the international and regional politics. It should be bear in mind that the Somali issue is complex in nature and hence at the end of the paper, the reader should understand the nature of Somalia's tribulations. Note that one of the features of African politics is that it comprises what can be considered as the worst political weakness, that is: political disequilibrium, and state failure and Somalia are a case among others.

Somalia is situated on the so-called Horn of Africa, with a total population of 15 to 17 million people and extending into the Indian Ocean, Somalia's harbors are natural ports of call for traders sailing to and from India. So the coast of the region is much visited by foreigners, in particular Arabs and Persians. But in the interior the Somali are left to their own arrangements. It is bordered in the north by Djibouti, in the west by Ethiopia and in the south by Kenya.

Chapter 1.1

Pre-colonial and colonial Somalia

By the early 1800th European interests begins to crop up in Somalia, the coasts were used as a coaling station for ships to India. Somalia was an important port of call on the Indian trade route, but its aridity and hostility fueled hesitation on the colonization issue. In the 1880's, France, Britain, Italy and Ethiopia competed for the Somali territory, the four competitors agreed among them and shared the land, the northern part were shared among French and British(now Djibouti and Eritrea) and the coastal regions were annexed by Italian protectorate and Ethiopian. But their interests grew when the Suez Canal opened creating tension between Italy and Ethiopia, the repercussion of this tension were felt in the Ogaden region found between Ethiopia and the coastal part of Somalia; an active Italian region, which was finally granted tot eh Ethiopians. By 1920 the colonial compromises in Somalia began to weaken through upheavals in the British Somaliland, and in the Ogaden region by Fascist Italy. The World War II complicated the situation; as Italy violently acquired Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, then known as the Italian East Africa, which surrounded British and French Somaliland. Somalia got into a situation of constant colonial change until its independence in 1960.

Chapter 1.2

Post-Independence Somalia and conflicts

After independence, Somalia looked forward to reunite with three large Somali groups trapped in other states - in French Somaliland, in Ethiopia and in northern Kenya. As Kenya and Ethiopia were in under the protection of the Western powers, Somalia turned towards the Soviet for help.

But still Somalia kept a neutral stance in international affairs, but this soon changed when newly elected President M. Egal was assassinated (1969) and the accession to power by Siad Barre who sided on the Soviet side, he devoted himself to a brutal Marxist dictatorship and hence opposing clan ideology and the clan system; which was an inherent part of the Somali culture. In 1977 Somalia attacked Ethiopian garrisons in the Ogaden but his ally; that is the USSR soon turned on the Ethiopian side and Ethiopia used Soviet support to take back the Ogaden in 1978. Having lost its ally and with thousands of refugee coming back, Somalia headed towards a deep abyss where it still lies.

To understand the collapse of the Somali state is a complex issue, but as a sum up of the issue it can be said that it was due to both, historical and cultural legacy. From a political point of view it can be said that during the 19th century, Somalia has been divided into five regions, namely: French Somaliland (Djibouti), British Somaliland, Italian Somaliland, Ethiopia (Ogaden) and the Kenyan Northern Frontier District. But since its independence in July 1960, the main objective of the nationalist was to reunite the whole territory, thing which was difficult as it implied conflicts with its neighborhood. Such ideology represents also a constant threat to all the countries concerned, that is: Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya. As a result, it weakened Somalia's regional economic development and its diplomatic relations.

Culturally speaking, it can be seen that Somalia is a complex body made up of several clan and sub-clans of nomads and pastorals. However the Somali believe that the clan system is their safeguard and protects them against foreigners, nevertheless, this belief is more complicated than it can appear. Moreover, above all they attach a deep affiliation to kinship and hence, for the Somali it can be sum up like the following:

• Families against families in a clan.
• Clan against clan in Somalia
• And Somalia against the World.

The conflicts among clan is due spilling hereditary lineage and Siad Barre' regime could maintain itself due to that Barre was able to play the game of rivalries between clans, furthermore, it is to be noted that major armed political groups are clan based. In the after effects of this disaster guerrilla groups, clan-based are formed in and around Somalia with the intention of bringing down Siad's repressive and centralizing regime. By 1988 the result was a full-scale civil war, resulting in the overthrow of Barre in 1991. He joined his own clan, becoming one warlord among many in this increasingly chaotic nation. In 1991 the faction controlling the former British Somaliland confuses matters by declaring its independence as the republic of Somaliland. Unlike Somaliland, the south and central Somalia is under constant conflict and conquest by rival clans and establishment of de facto government(Ali Mahdi) but the question was not about how to rule but who rules as the tension revolved around clan supremacy .

Humanitarian turmoil reaches its peak and armed conflict generated food and health crisis but the situation is such that foreign intervention is difficult due to violent respons towards foreign aids.

There is often a danger that fundamentalist peep into conflicts and tries to take advantage of the situation, the Islamic Courts Union confirmed the fundamentalists' habit in Somalia extending its ideology. This Islamic fundamentalist group briefly tried to conquer Somalia.

Chapter 1.3

Somalia economic overview

“The economy has long been heavily dependent on livestock and agriculture. Stock rearing is practised throughout the country and accounted for about 40% of GDP [Gross Domestic Product] and 65% of export earnings in 2000, according to World Food Programme (WFP) estimates. Most of the farmland lies between the Jubba and Shabeelle rivers in the south of the country. The small manufacturing sector is based on the processing of agricultural products. In the south, the absence of a central government has meant that no economic data have been produced by national sources since 1990. In Somaliland, by contrast, the government collects tax and duties levied on trade.[1]”

This can give an overview of Somali economy, hence its vulnerability and dependency on foreign economic aid especially in Puntland region where the data concerning the economic activity are almost absent. And this also brings in the ecological factor which is not in favor of the Somalis a clear example is the great droughts of 2006 which has caused a major humanitarian in Somalia, which touched nearly 1.5 million people, displacing 400,000 people due to a fall in crop production in practically all regions under cultivation[2]. But still, the Somalis economy is said to have flourished after the collapse; because the absence of a state and its institutions, has given birth to a laissez faire economy controlled by private sector. Private newspapers and enterprises mushroomed creating one of the best telecommunication systems in Africa, with an approximate GDP of $5.524 billion, and Somalia natural resources are: Largely unexploited reserves of iron ore, tin, gypsum, bauxite, uranium, copper, salt, petroleum and natural gas. It produce also agricultural product such as banana, livestock, fish, corn, and has established markets(United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Oman) to export its product and imports petroleum products, food grain, construction material, etc… from countries like Brazil, India, Kenya, Djibouti, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Oman. Furthermore, Somalia also benefit from foreign economic aid especially from the United States of America, the European Union etc.[3]

Its impact on the regional and international politics is more disastrous: it can be said in one paragraph which will clarify the rest; Somalia has been noted as a failed state in the international sphere, arms embargo imposed by the UN security council since 1992 till now, removal of humanitarian aid due to violence against the humanitarian aid volunteers, (particularly in Puntland state), and reinforcement of security in the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean due to high piracy level in the zone, there is also the problem of mass migration of Somalis to Yemen.

Chapter 2

State and State failure

State

A state is a set of components and institution that enable it to survive. The main pillars of the state are: the Government, territory and population. While population and territory are physical in nature government is institutional and most important, failing to establish one of the basic institutions, a country can be said to have failed. State's function can be classified as ideal state functions and real state functions. Ideal state functions are divided into social functions and economic functions; social functions being: controlling the peoples' fundamental rights and liberty and economic functions being provision of goods and services and income redistribution. But the real state functions are different, they are divided into state natural functions: that is power and coercion, social functions: for example protection of rights and liberty and economic functions that is limited to provision of goods and services. The state is presented as a tangible political entity; and the state has different characteristics: that is: Sovereignty; each state is sovereign and that is what creates the contract between the states prevents the interference of one state into another state's matter. Territory: land and sea defined by a boundary. Nation: the concept of nation is very important, sometimes a nation leads to the creation of a state and sometimes a state leads to the creation of a nation. Somalia is a state with one nation but divided through cans. The Somali society's features match with the features of a nation that is same language, same culture, same religion, but different clans. Characteristics of a state are that it has also diplomatic recognition, internal organization and internal loyalty from the part of its population. [4]

Chapter 2.1

Why a state?

State has two sets of definition, the organizational definitions; that define the state as a set of governmental institutions making rules, controlling and supervising different element of the country. The functional definition depicts the state according to its social, economic, political and legal functions. The origins of the state dates back to the ancient civilization and the most antique form of state known is the Greek city state which evolved through time to give way to the modern nation state. State is a common word nowadays, members from each governing institutions claim that they can serve it and manipulate it, for instance, judges claim that they can discern its interests and politicians claim that they know how to run it. Liberals believed that the state should be a referee, Marxist sinister perception see the state as an “instrument” and relist perceive the state as a elitist organization of manipulators. A broader definition would be that the state is mainly regrouping of all powers relations in society which acts as an automatic machine supervising the legal, economic, political and social elements of a country. Diverse thinkers view the state differently and below are the principal thinkers' view of the state. Therefore, all the definitions show that a state is important and needed. 2

Locke rejects any notion of subordination and with it the relationship that it maintains in relations between men and relationships between men and inferior creatures. There is no difference between them inherent among men, there is no hierarchy: they are all free and equal in the eyes of God. The natural liberty requires both independence and equality; it makes the political authority to consent. Locke argues that men are originally free and equal and that the origin of Governments is a free association. It therefore opposes the theory of divine right monarchy and absolutism.

Montesquieu developed in the spirit of laws theory of forms of government (monarchy, despotism, aristocratic republic, democratic republic). Its doctrine is based on separation of powers (legislative, executive, judicial) and opposes the speculative theory of natural law. There is no "noble savage", but various companies where several elements govern men: climate, religion, morals.

Thomas Hobbes sees the state as an institution whose individuals are self-centered in nature. Left on their own, they can create a state of war, as he called it. Hence, Hobbes upholds an absolute ruler to control the state. The will of the sovereign is the will of god and law of the state is the will of the sovereign, thus the sovereign or Leviathan, as he called it establishes the contract between various institutions and among individuals so as not to create chaos. The ruler is above law, the Leviathan is the state. So what can be deduced is that Hobbes defined the state as a primitive, individualist and anarchical institution where conflict of interest among individuals prevails and leads to collapse of the state, hence state must be a harsh institution which looks towards its survival, otherwise it would be the state of nature?

But Jean Jacque Rousseau does not see the state as such. For him, the state and power is the evil that corrupts the good man. Rousseau corrects Hobbes by saying that it is state of nature is not just the removal of the governing body it is also the removal of all societal features; that is culture, belief, religion and even understanding of one's own self. Therefore it can be deduced that according to Rousseau, the state is a set of societal features, that is culture, religion belief, rational view of others and one's own self and governing institution.

Marxist, view the state as something totally different: "(The state) is a product of society at a certain stage of development; it is the admission that this society has become entangled in an insoluble contradiction with itself, that it is cleft into irreconcilable antagonisms which it is powerless to dispel. But in order that these antagonisms, classes with conflicting economic interests, might not consume themselves and society in sterile struggle, a power seemingly standing above society became necessary for the purpose of moderating the conflict, of keeping it within the bounds of "order"; and this power, arisen out of society but placing itself above it, and increasingly alienating itself from it, is the state."[5]

What Engels wants to explains is that the state is controlled by the economically dominant class, enabling it to maintain its control over the exploited classes. Although the state is usually the instrument of the economically dominant class, sometimes conflicting classes balance each other such that the state becomes somewhat independent.

The state is part of the "superstructure" of society. Marx and Engels analyzed human society as divided into a material base and a superstructure that rests on it. The base is made up of the devices of production (machines, tools, and raw materials), the social classes, chiefly the exploiting and laboring classes, of the particular society, and the relations between these classes. The superstructure consists of political and cultural institutions, including the state, churches, schools, etc., as well as corresponding intellectual spheres: politics, religion, science, art, etc. The state is a major, if not the major, element of this superstructure as per the Marxists.

As per principles of International Law, a state is a recognized and subject to international law only if it comprises of certain qualifications, that is: a permanent population, a defined territory, government, and capacity to enter into relations with other states.[6] Comparing these features to Somalia, it can be deduced that Somalia lacks two of these qualifications, that is; capacity to enter in relations with other states and it has a weak government controlling limited territory. Therefore, Somalia is a state without its full managerial capacity, but still it is a sovereign state and is recognize as such by the international community, as defined by the Declaration on principles of international law Elements: b).: Each state enjoys the right inherent in full sovereignty and element c).: Each state has the duty to respect the personality of other states[7]

Chapter 2.2

State failure

A state does not collapse one day or another, a state weakens fails and then collapse. A weak state still have control on the majority of the country but cannot solve major issue or is illegitimate in the eyes of some portion of the population. In fact the strength of a state is judge on the level of obedience and legitimacy accorded to it by the nation. State failure is an instable state experiencing civil war or invasion, then, the state collapse; this situation is the total paralysis of all institution of the state that is; legal, economic, military and political. State failure is a sensible but tangible issue in Africa, moreover, before defining state failure and its implication in Africa, first of all there must be a kind and close comprehension of the subject and its various facets. State failure is two words with various definitions, because circumstances and factors leading to state failure vary from one country to another. Before looking into the core subject, definitions of the word state is important, moreover, the definitions of state also vary. State failure concerns essentially the interrelationship between models of authority, political control and institution building in a country. What makes Africa the appropriate model to examine state failure, is that it has experienced shifts of government, that is, from colonial to post colonial or from democracy to autocracy. The shift of power, from colonial to independent has created political instability in most country and in some state failure. In the case of Africa and particularly, Somalia, when the term state failure is coined, it, means the there is a failure to control and to promote human prospering.

Government is normally formed of various institution to promote Culture, economic stability, security, rights, liberty, justice and what is more important is to respect the concept of rule of law on the territory by all civilians. Hence these values are under the responsibility of a governing body which delegates the particular responsibilities to institutions like; the Army, Supreme Court, ministries, police force etc… in respect of a Constitution[8]. There are some fixed and variable symptoms indicating a state collapse; fixed symptoms being common symptoms present in all cases and variable symptoms being particular to the specific Country. Examples of fixed symptoms are failure in the provision of national and international security and the preservation of order, failure in the implementation of the rule of law, no existence of; institutions of political freedom, channels of commerce and communication, lack of provision of an economic institution to promote growth and prosperity, and no presence of basic services such as medical services, power, running water, and control of the environmental commons, and civil war. Variable symptoms, here in the case of Somalia, would be piracy, but the issue of piracy is subject to debate because the state failure is not the only causes of piracy in Somalia, ecological factors are responsible too.

Therefore, a state is weakens when it loses control one of these institutions or all, in other words the state failed to provide basic functions for its citizen. But state failure or collapse, is not an instant event, it is rather an event of long lasting decay of the state due to internal or external factors, which will be explained later. Hence, the fall out of state failure is that the economy becomes weak, provision of education and heath care disappear, proliferation of crime and violence and it also generates opposing groups often engaged in armed conflict, creating humanitarian crisis and often genocide, population shift, refugee crises and food shortage.

Chapter 3

Causes of the collapse

Causes of the collapse can be divided and hence would be better understood, there are the founding causes and the contributing causes. Founding causes are those causes which are at the origin of the collapse of the state and contributing causes are as important as founding causes but have contributed to the collapse not originate it.

The conflicts are to be divided into three categories; it must be beard in mind that all these factors have contributed to the collapse of the Somali state, but at different stages and different way. This chapter is an attempt to demonstrate how each causes has its importance throughout the failing process.

The causes or factors of collapse are classified as such:

• Original cause(initiation of collapse) instable
• Contributing causes (declining factors) weak
• Final blow collapse

Original causes: these factors can also be referred to as the initiation to the state collapse: that is the factors which rendered the state instable, but did not knock out the state. What is meant by instable is that; those factors created a state of tension in the country that gave little chance for Somalia to progress, socially, economically, politically.

Original causes are; colonial division of Somalia into five parts and offering Ethiopia in particular a great portion of the territory[9]; and social division of the Somali society into small clan-based mini-states that lacked an organizational skill to regroup themselves into a state. These two factors could be considered as the core factors of the collapse of the state by causing the formation of a weak and deformed state. But another core factor can be added to this that is: wrong management of the national resources and the fact that Somalia lack effectively trained human resources to substitute colonial administration in running state institutions. The historical period for this condition is preceding the independence of Somalia in 1960.

There are also the transitional causes which caused the state to collapse. Transit causes are mid causes; these are for example the Barre Socialist regime, and the final blow which lead to the downfall of Somalia.

Chapter 3.1

Clan system

It should be bearded in mind the cultural traditions of Somalia do not allow the country to be accustomed to building a modern state. The clan system in Somalia is both unite and divide, as explained above, the characteristic that unites, that it is a common form of social organization in Somalia. But the sharing feature is that: there is hostility between clans and sub-clans. The clans are divided into two categories: there are pastoral nomads and livestock mainly southern clans. But the conflict is mainly between pastoral nomadic clans and clans farmed.

There are four major clans of "noble" families; the Darood, Hawiye, Isaaq and Dir,. Minority groups and low-caste clans included the Bantu of Somalia (being the largest minority group), the Benadiri, Rer Hamar Brawanese, swahili, Fumal, Yibir, Yaxar, Madhiban, Hawrarsame, Muse Dheryo and Faqayaqub. One third of the population, approximately two million people are from minority groups. Intermarriage between these groups and noble clans is limited. Some of these groups have limited access to all social services that are available, including health and education. Minority groups had no armed militias and continue to be victims of murders, tortures, rapes, abductions and looting of land and property. These groups have continued to live in conditions of great poverty and suffer numerous forms of discrimination and exclusion.[10]

As indicated in the JFFMR[11] March 2004, the delegation met Omar Abdiaziz Daad:

"Daad Omar, former Minister of the reconciliation of President Siad Barre from 1986 to 1990, said he is a Marehan himself and the nephew of Siad Barre and next to Siad Barre, the son closest. Daad Omar left Mogadishu in 1991 and returned several times since. Daad Omar said he works as a mediator in central Somalia and has been accredited for the peace process in Kenya to the Darood clan. Daad Omar explained it is too difficult for Marehan to live in Mogadishu, they are designed to be high because many of them used to work for the regime of Siad Barre. He stated that all members of the clan would Marehan to blame for the suffering caused by the SiadBarre regime and they risk being killed. Omada Daad estimated 200 people Marehan clan live in Mogadishu today that are able to stay there only because they were married with members of stronger clans. Marehan An independent could not live safely in Mogadishu and manage a business. Daad Omar said that Marehan who had worked for the regime of Siad Barre could not return to Mogadishu. Even members of the family of a Marehan who had worked for Siad Barre would have had problems today. Any other clan member (eg a Hawiye and Habr Gedir) who had worked in the administration (including police) Siad Barre have no problems returning to Mogadishu today. But members of the Darood clan and Majerteen will not be able to live safely in Mogadishu, the Hawiye clans regard them as a challenge to their power “

The complexity of the Somali clan system, it is difficult to identify the clan, but it is easier to identify them when they fall into political factions. This complex political structure, where there is only way to rivalry and competition for resources and territorial control, can not make a good organization policy. Good organization policy refers here to standard policies every country, that is, establishment of a modern state through democratic principles. But what was so undemocratic about the clan system? The answer is simple; the clan system that has long existed in Somalia, as well as conflicts between clans, but these conflicts has been an obstacle to the unification of Somalia under a local body[12] (after independence). An obstacle to the unification of Somalia that the issue of creating a modern state was another thing, it was more difficult with increasing conflict between the clan, where the modern nation-state was not the priority, the unification of the clans is paramount. But the intellectual elite choose the wrong option, they created the modern state in Somalia first and then tried to accommodate the clan, what followed was chaos!

We can not find details of Somalia without being troubled by the importance of clan in the Somali culture, and it is so omnipresent that it is causing the conflict in Somalia. What brings the clan system as a basic factor for the collapse of the state is that, as mentioned above, it is an integral part of Somali culture, and furthermore, it has generated the de facto ' state by clan rivalries on then basis of clan identity. Siad Barre could remain so long at the head of Somalia because he used a policy of divide and rule and created rivalries between clans, favorising his own clan the main armed political groups as well that is;USC, SSDF, SNM, SPF, SDA, SDM.

1. United Somali Congress (USC). The USC was created by the Hawiye clan in central Somalia around Mogadishu.
2. Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF). The SSDF was created by the sub-clan of Darood Majerteen, who live in north-eastern Somalia.
3. Somali National Movement (SNM). The SNM was created by the Issaq clan of north-west Somalia, it proclaimed the independence of Somaliland.
4. Somali Patriotic Front (SPF). The SPF was established by the Ogaden sub-clan of Darood who live partly in the south and partly in central Somalia.
5. Somali Democratic Movement (SDM). The SDM is the movement Rahanwein clan; they live in the south and west.
6. Somali Democratic Association (SDA). The SDA is the advantage of living Dir clan in Somalia's north-west.

The question of invasion is also very important for the inter-clan conflicts. Unlike northern Somalia, also known as Somaliland, which consists of five districts, but primarily inhabited by people fro the Issaq clan, southern Somalia is not homogeneous. The regions south and central Somalia is under conquest and occupation of the armed forces different clan, who have no legitimacy on the cities and agricultural lands for which they fought and.

Chapter 3.2

Colonial division of Somali territory

The colonial history of Somalia do not let anyone believe that this nation can easily form an effective state, the question that comes to mind all the readers is that the colonial history of Somalia, how can be linked to the collapse of the state.
The countries sharing the same culture with the various rival clans, and the problem does not stop there, the colonial powers divided the land into portions thereby creating a situation of standstill, paralyzing the nation. As mentioned at the beginning, Somalia was formed by the union of two former colonial territories, British Somaliland in the north and Italian Somaliland, which was more populous. But the colonial division affects the breakdown as follows: Somali irredentism and conflict with Ethiopia and Kenya.

When Somalia was unified in 1959, before independence in 1960, only the British and Italian Somaliland, which has created the new Somalia, there were still some Somalis living in Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti. In fact, this could be unified has been unified and the rest was considered that there was a Somali nation in these countries, Somalia and the whole is not united. And that's where the problem laid, Somali irredentism was much more important than solving the rivalries of clans that has brought the country to failure and collapse.

The colonial history of Somalia do not let anyone believe that this nation can easily form an effective state, the question that comes to mind all the readers is that how can the colonial history of Somalia, be linked to the collapse of the state.

The countries sharing the same culture with the various rival clans, and the problem does not stop there, the colonial powers divided the land into portions thus creating a situation of standstill, paralyzing the nation. As mentioned at the beginning, Somalia was formed by the union of two former colonial territories, British Somaliland in the north and Italian Somaliland, which were more populous neglecting portions of Somali in Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti. Therefore, the colonial division affects the collapse as follows: Somali irredentism leading to conflict with Ethiopia and Kenya.
When Somalia was unified in 1959, before independence in 1960, only the British and Italian Somaliland had created the new Somalia, there were still some Somalis living in Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti. In fact, what could be unified has been unified and the rest was unconsidered, there was a Somali nation in these countries, Somalia as a whole was not united. And that's where the problem laid, Somali irredentism was much more important than solving the rivalries of clans.

Somalia has always been in conflict with its neighbor, the only reason is that since the settlement of the Somali territory was divided, therefore, ultimately, the fact that only two parties were united in the new Somalia after independence. But still, Somali irredentism makes room for conflict between Somalia and neighboring countries. Despite the great difficulties encountered during the unification of North and South, the most important political issue after independence was the unification of all areas populated by Somalis into one country. Politicians assume that this issue dominated popular opinion and that any government would fall if it did not demonstrate a militant attitude toward neighboring countries occupying Somali territory.

Obsession of the Greater Somalia shaped the character of institutions of newly formed and led to the accumulation of the Somali army and the war with Ethiopia and fighting in the northern frontier of Kenya. By law the exact size of the National Assembly has not been established to facilitate the inclusion of representatives of the disputed areas after unification. The national flag featured a five-pointed star whose points are the areas claimed as part of the Somali nation former Italian and British territories, the Ogaden, Djibouti and the NFD[13]in Kenya. Moreover, the preface of the constitution approved in 1961 included the statement, "The Somali Republic promotes by legal and peaceful means, union territories." The Constitution also stipulates that all ethnic Somalis, wherever they lived, were citizens of the Republic. The Somalis did not claim sovereignty over adjacent territories, but demanded that Somalis living in them being granted the right to self-determination.

During talks in London in 1961 on the future of Kenya, Somali representatives from the NFD demanded that Britain arrange for the separation of NFD before Kenya gained independence. The British government appointed a commission to determine popular opinion in the NFD on the question. His investigation showed that the separation of Kenya was almost unanimously supported by the Somalis and the nomadic pastoralists, the Oromo. Despite a Somali diplomatic activity, the colonial government in Kenya did not act on the findings of the commission, but the Somalis request was denied. The denial of Somali claims led to growing hostility between the Kenyan government and Somalis in the NFD. Adapting easily to life or bandits, the Somalis conducted a revolutionary campaign against the police and the army for over four years between 1960 and 1964. The Somali government officially denied Kenya's accusations that the guerrillas were trained in Somalia, equipped with Soviet weapons, and directed from Mogadishu. But he could not deny that the Voice of Somalia has influenced the level of guerrilla activity through its broadcasts.

Somalia refused to acknowledge in particular the validity of the Anglo-Ethiopian Treaty of 1954 recognizing Ethiopia's claim to the Haud[14] or, in general, the relevance of treaties defining the Somali-Ethiopian borders. The Somali stance was based on three points: first, that the agreements considered the treaties made with the clans that had been under British protection, and second, the Somalis were not consulted on the terms of treaties and in fact, had not been informed of their existence and, thirdly, that these treaties violated the principle of self-determination.

The incidents began to occur in the Haud within six months after the independence of Somalia. At first the incidents were confined to minor clashes between Ethiopian police and armed parties of Somali nomads, usually resulting from traditional provocations such as smuggling, theft of livestock, and collecting taxes, but not irredentist agitation. Their actual causes aside, these incidents tended to be viewed in Somalia as expressions of Somali nationalism. Hostilities grew steadily, eventually involving small-scale actions between Somali and Ethiopian forces armed along the border. In February 1964, armed conflict erupted along the Somali border, Ethiopian aircraft attacked targets in Somalia. Hostilities ended in April through the mediation of Sudan, acting under the auspices of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). Under the terms of the cease-fire, a joint commission was established to examine the causes of frontier incidents, and a demilitarized zone ten to fifteen kilometers wide was established on each side of the border. At least temporarily, further military confrontations were prevented.

Ethiopia and Kenya concluded a mutual defense pact in 1964 in response to what both countries perceived as a continuing threat from Somalia. This pact was renewed in 1980 and again August 28, 1987, calling for coordination of the armed forces of both countries in case of attack by Somalia. Most members of the OAU were alienated by Somali irredentism and feared that if Somalia were successful in detaching the Somali-populated parts of Kenya and Ethiopia, the example might inspire their own restive minorities divided by frontiers imposed during the colonial period. This conflict over the territories is the results of colonization of the Somali territory and lead a new state like Somalia to decline since its independence in 1960[15].

Chapter 3.3

Lack of skilled human resources and economic underdevelopment

Another problem in Somalia is that there was a lack of trained human resources. Somalia has so many resources, yet the Somali authorities have focused too much o the external problem and you forgot to address the problem of underdevelopment and economic and benefit from foreign aid to developing countries. It was a lost opportunity for the Somali authorities to build the country and in the solid state. The resources of the country and the strategic point where it is located must have made Somalia one of the richest states in Africa.

Economy-overview stipulates that Somalia is one of the poorest and least developed countries, Somalia has few resources. In addition, much of the economy has been devastated by civil war. Agriculture is the largest sector, with livestock accounting for about 40% of GDP and about 65% of export earnings. Nomadic and semi-nomads, who depend on livestock for their livelihood, make up a large portion of the population. After livestock, bananas are the main export, products of sugar, sorghum, maize, and fish for the domestic market. The small industrial sector, based on processing of agricultural products, representing 10% of GDP, most installations have been closed due to civil war.

GDP: power parity-$ 4 billion (1998)
GDP real growth rate: NA%
GDP per capita: parity of purchasing power of $ 600 (1998)
GDP by sector:
Agriculture: 59%
industry: 10%
Services: 31% (1995 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
below 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): NA%
Labor force: 3.7 million (very few are skilled workers) (1993 est.)
Labor force by occupation: agriculture (mostly pastoral nomadism) 71%, industry and services 29%
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget:
revenues: $ NA
expenditures: $ NA, including capital expenditures of $ NA
Industries: A few small industries, including sugar refining, textiles, petroleum refining (mostly off)
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Electricity production: 258 million kWh (1996)
Electricity production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
Hydro: 0%
Nuclear% 0
Other: 0% (1996)
Electricity consumption: 258 million kWh (1996)
Electricity-exports: 0 kWh (1996)
Electricity Imports: 0 kWh (1996)
Agriculture-products: bananas, sorghum, corn, sugarcane, mangoes, sesame seeds, beans, cattle, sheep, goats, fish
Exports: 123 million (fob, is. 1995)
Exports commodities: livestock, bananas, hides, fish (1997)
Exports-partners: Saudi Arabia 55%, Yemen 19%, Italy 11%, UAE, U.S. (1996 est.)
Imports: 60 million (fob, is. 1995)
Imports commodities: manufactured goods, petroleum products, foodstuffs, construction materials (1995)
Imports partners: Kenya 28%, Djibouti 21%, Brazil 6%, Pakistan (1996 est.)
External debt: $ 2.6 billion (1996 est.)
Economic aid-Recipient: $ 191.5 million (1995)
Currency: 1 Somali shilling (So. Sh) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Somali shillings (So. Sh) per U.S. $ 1-2,620 (January 1999), 7500 (November is. 1997), 7000 (was January 1996), 5000 (January 1, 1995), 2616 (July 1, 1993 ), 4200 (December 1992)

Note:

The Republic of Somaliland, a self-declared independent country not recognized by any government, issues its own currency, the Somaliland shilling (So. sh)[16].

Another problem is that Somalia did not have intellectual elites to run the country. Out of a total population of 9,656,500 (July 2001) only 24% are literate[17]; this can give an approximate on literacy in the 1960s. Thus, what is noteworthy is that the level of Somali literacy was very limited, less than one quarter of the population, some fled the country and others engaged in politics, military and private companies. The amount of resources available in the country could develop through foreign investment or local initiative, but the authorities have preferred to focus on the unification of the Somali nation overflowed the borders of neighboring countries rather than developing the economy.

After independence in 1960, economic growth failed to keep pace with population growth caused by the arrival of refugees. This is the result of the country's heavy dependence on agriculture and livestock affected by drought. The largest industry in Somalia is the transformation of agro-food, apart from that, there is little industrial development. Except for tin, the country's minerals are not developed, even though international companies have oil exploration. During the 1980s, devastating droughts, the Ogaden War with Ethiopia and the civil war that followed threw a failing economy in ruins. In the 1990s, Somalia was ranked "least developed" by the UN. The external debt at the UN intervention was 1.9 billion, with repayments estimated at 120130% of export earnings. The inflation rate has exceeded 80%.

After the civil war, cities between Ethiopia and the port of Bossaso in the Mudug region have experienced some increased economic activity, while the surrounding countryside showed signs of serious economic collapse. In the south, the economy collapse following the war between clans. In the cities visited by an assessment team in September 1991, a number of economically active women are engaged in petty trading, often separated from their husbands or widows of war. Government employment (mostly men receiving) had disappeared[18].

Chapter 3.4
The socialist ideology and Siaad Barre

In 1969, Major-General Siad Barre, commander of the armed forces seized power and established a socialist military dictatorship that lasted nearly twenty years. His government has suspended the democratic constitution, dissolved the National Assembly broke up political parties. The civilian politicians have been arrested and detained for years. Social movements not sponsored by the government were banned. President, Barre was supported by 25 members of the Supreme Revolutionary Council (SRC) of the army and police. In 1972 the government established a new constitution and formed a National Assembly, and creating a political system with no constitutional limits so that the members could exercise full executive power. The Barre government, nationalized most of the industries, banks, insurance companies and the press has censored the media, foreign journalists were denied visas, and has created a cult of personality, for himself people were to call him “our father” . A program of "scientific socialism" was created by Barre and, ultimately, management of the economy has fallen to government agencies. Advisors of Barre came from only three clans, his government has sometimes been referred to as MOD (Mareehaan, Ogadeni, Dolbahante), he favored his own clan and clans of his relatives, for example: Mareehaan clan (Siad Barre), Ogaden (the clan Siad Barre's mother) and Dulbahante (the clan of Siad Barre's son-in-law Colonel Ahmad Sulayman Abdullah, who headed the NSS). To control other clans (the Majerteen in 1979, the Isaaq in 1988, the Hawiye in 1989-1990), the regime became increasingly cruel and Barre declared war against tribalism. He dismantled the traditional institutions which settled the conflict. In 1973, he prohibited private social gatherings, weddings and funerals have been refused, except in centers controlled by government. The frustration grew among the people and many of them have emigrated or turned to violence.

During the 1970s and early 1980s, the United States, the Soviet Union and Cuba were competing for control in the Horn of Africa due to its proximity to the Middle East. Initially, the Soviet Union and East Germany supported the Barre regime scientific socialist. However, when a Marxist government took control of Ethiopia, the United States withdrew from Somalia and the USSR intervened to support Ethiopia during the Ogaden War. Angered by this measure, Barre threw the Soviet military advisers out, and closed Soviet military installations in the country, and started seeking aid and military support from the West. To ensure the security of oil supplies in the Gulf, the United States has improved their relations with Somalia, took over the Soviet base at Berbera in 1980, and discussed the settings of U.S. Central Command to military installations in Somalia. Rivalry between the superpowers supplied arms to groups in the region, provoking regional conflicts. The per capita consumption of arms was higher than in any other part of Africa

Despite its oppressive regime, Barre had many positive accomplishments included the creation of more than twenty five factories of mass production, including: processing facilities of sugarcane, the first house of meat processing for local consumption and export markets in addition to numerous other successful attempts at industrialization. The President has chaired numerous decisions and has shown a personal interest in the projects he initiated. For some, the Barre government, resolved the longstanding problem of writing system used to represent the Somali language, a problem that previous governments have been unable to resolve in terms of deciding what Alphabet should be used. For practical reasons, Barre chose Latin on the Arabic script.

Another notable massive campaign of public service by the Barre government participated in the resettlement of victims of drought in northern Somalia. These new settlements were known as collective settlements. The transplanted families were introduced to agriculture, and change their lifestyle of traditional pastoral livestock.

Another project long-term public was personally committed to the President's efforts in building a civil society, and the Shalanbood[19] Sand dune stop. Every weekend, scores of agricultural and environmental engineers and thousands of ordinary citizens have volunteered to plant trees, shrubs and push the sand dunes that had been creeping into farmland.

Barre has done well and he was going to build a better Somalia, but it failed because of two things: its cold war strategy: it would have been better if he had remained neutral, rather than seeking help two blocks, favoritism of his clan, as far as socialism was concerned, it was no big deal because it would surely lead to the fall of Barre, but not Somalia along with him[20].

Chapter 3.5

War with Ethiopia and civil war

The between Somalia and Ethiopia is not something new in the region for centuries there has been tension between those two nations, but the conflict grew bigger after the independence of Somalia because of the Ogaden which both countries claim that it is theirs. Conflict in the Horn of Africa can be traced as far as the European fought for African territories, in the nineteenth centuries. The British, French, and Italian interests mingled competitively in and around the Horn of Africa. This resulted in a demarcation of the Horn without any consideration given to existing boundaries on the ground. The actual national boundaries were drawn with no regard to geographical and ethnographical considerations. This lead to a great tension between the countries in the Horn, but the most violent and costly was between Ethiopia and Somalia, a war which caused the Somali state to collapse.

The war with Ethiopia, followed by the end of the Cold War between the U.S. and the USSR and the cutting of all foreign aid to Somalia leading to the collapse of the state: The emergence of armed groups in major cities across the country trying to control the whole territory, has given the final blow to Somalia. The military regime and the establishment of a socialist regime, and strong nationalist projects that culminated in the war with Ethiopia in 1977-78, and the defeat of the Somali army was the turning point towards the collapse of the state. The political situation in 1978 was very similar to the political situation of 1969, when one party regime was established, and political injustice was not discussed, but intensified.

The period of the armed opposition to Barre dates from the establishment of the Majerteen Somali Salvation Democratic Front (SSDF) in 1978, although the Majerteen and the SSDF were quickly eliminated by Barre. The Ogaden war with Ethiopia in 1977 over the disputed Ogaden region lead to the defeat of Somali troops in 1978. The war had an immediate effect in terms of refugee flows into Somalia. This was crucial to prove the relationship of the regime to the Isaaq clans located in the north-west of the country. At the beginning of the war there was a massive arrival of ethnic Somalis and Oromos in the border regions of northern Somalia. In 1979 there were officially 1.3 million refugees in the country. The arrival of refugees placed additional strains on resources, which sometimes causes tension between the local and Somali refugees.

The Isaaq were expelled from the civil service and armed forces, before the formation of the Somali National Movement (SNM). The government continued to oppress the Issaqthis lead to rebellion from the side of the SNM. They could not bear the removal of property, the revocation of licenses, and the relocation of villages. Barre was faced with opposition from the Somali Salvation Democratic Front and the SNM, both their activities led from within Ethiopia. It was this joint attack that led to peace with Barre and Mengistu of Ethiopia to negotiate,and drop all territorial claims on the previous formation of a Greater Somalia in exchange for Mengistu's termination of support for the SNM and SSDF. In 1988 Barre was thus free to concentrate on domestic issues. The scene was a total war on the north-west.

In May 1988 the SNM launched coordinated attacks on the northern cities of Hargeisa and Burco and succeeded in temporarily countering Barre's forces. In July of that year Barre had regained both cities, they were subject to heavy artillery and air bombardments. Following the war in the north-west, resort 365,000 Somalis in Ethiopia, while another 50,000 were killed by government forces in Hargeisa alone. An estimated 100,000 civilians lost their lives in the bombing of the northern cities by Barre. An additional 60,000 people have been displaced. Barre was rewsponsible for the systematic destruction of livestock and resources vital to the pastoral economy added to the pressure to migrate. Persecution of the Isaaq also spread to the south of the country.
While the SNM was recovering from this attack, the Hawiye (and the most powerful clan in the south) was the founder of the United Somali Congress (USC). This quickly split into two factions. Ogadeni refugees in Hargeisa, which Barre already used against the SNM, formed their own Somali Patriotic Movement (SPM), which was also against the regime. By then, the Cold War ended and the superpowers had no reason to invest in proxy-war, then foreign aid flew away from Somalia, Barre was weakened and ousted from the country and the state fell apart, in the hands of armed groups: clan-based movements [21]

Chapter 3.6

IMF AND WORLD BANK POLICY

Some other observers attribute the collapse to a weakened state caused by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In the 1980s' the IMF and the World Bank developed a major concern about development of the third world countries, emphasis was laid in the African states and Somalia was among them. The famous Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) was introduced in Somalia, the SAP concentrated on the banana production and most economists praised the achievements of the SAP in Somalia, observers like A.S. Samataar[22] noticed that the value Somali shilling on international market was being kept low, Samataar also drafted some points where the measures failed and weakened the Somali economy.

The SAP did create a growth in the banana industry but the main beneficiaries were foreign investors

Child were working in the fields, therefore; cheap labor.

75% of the banana exportation earning were realized by overseas investors, hence very little reinvestment fund were input in Somalia.

Samataar's main idea was that the SAP has further destroyed the economy through the impoverishment of the local industry to the benefits of the foreign investors. But the IMF and the World Bank is not the main or a great reason for the collapse of the Somali state, the state was already facing turmoil and was weak since its independence. The SAP has only contributed the weakening economy.

Chapter 4

Effects of the collapse on Somalia and regional POLITICS

On the 19 January 1991 the United Somali Congress (USC) under the rule of General Mohammed Farah Aideed, ousted Siaad Barre, factions continued to fight for control, contributing to the downfall of Somalia. Fearing that the southerners might debar them from power the northerners declared the Republic of Somaliland independent on May 18, 1991, with Abed al-Rahman Ahmad Ali Tur from the SNM (Somali National Movement) as president. In the same year, Djibouti organized a National Reconciliation Conference, and pushed for an interim government, one of the leaders of the USC, Mohammed Ali Mahdi was chosen as president, this created opposition on the USC side, Aideed wanted power, and finally in August of the same year Mahdi accessed the position of President. His task was to reconstruct the country built a national army and to end war. But the Dlibouti agreement was not respected as full scale rivalry came between the two USC factions as Aideed tried to overthrow Mahdi in November 1991 by taking Mogadishu as battleground. Leadership and administrative control were exercised by local elders, but varied with the clan ruling the area, as the shift of power was frequent and violent. Somalia has undertaken a downfall and finally collapsed, armed factions have taken over the country, especially in the Puntland region and southern region, while the northern seceded Somaliland seems to be more peaceful. But the complete chaos which normally follows a collapse appears to be absent in some aspects of the Somali territory. In fact according to some observations, Somalia has raised its standard of living though stateless.

After the collapse and the retreat of the United Nations in 1995, many warlords tried to form a government several parts of Somalia, but they were not successful. Though Somalia lacked a central government, some parts of the country have declared their independence, like Somaliland and Puntland, these internationally unrecognized states, provides some services to the population, the nature of their international illegitimacy is that they have formed a clan based government, which is far from the perception of government by the western states.

The situation after the collapse and the relative peace, the economy has recovered, civil war and droughts has caused more trouble to the economy than collapse of the state institutions. The absence of government has improved the economic situation better than under Barre's repressive regime. There are some factions who control tax and trade but better than the pre 1991 period, this is to say that Somalia economy is relatively better than the Pre 1991 period; hence anarchy brought order to some extent in the country. The pastoral sector which was oppressed by the government can now trade more easily and that without governmental interference and oppression. And it can be said that the pastoral sector has known some improvements after state collapse.

The volume of sales quadrupled from 1989 to 1998. In the North animal trade from Somalia and neighboring land-locked Ethiopia flows to northern Somali ports for export. The two northern ports of Bossaso and Berbera exported nearly 3 million head of goat and sheep in 1999, accounting for 95 percent of all goat and 52 percent of all sheep exports for East Africa. Overall, the volume of trade in sheep and goats in Somaliland and Puntland was greater in 1999 than when the regions were governed by a single national government. In fact, Somaliland is the leading exporter of livestock from eastern African nations. In 2002 Somalia as a whole exported more than 480 million metric tons of agricultural products and more than 180 million metric tons of livestock.”[24]

After the collapse, doing business was dangerous in the Somali cities, due to violence, where peace has been achieved, there has been flourishing foreign investment; Italian agribusiness companies, the US based Dole Fruit Inc has invested in the agricultural sector, DHL, Coca-Cola, British Airways, are among other companies who have invested in the Somali economy, even Somali medias have affiliated themselves with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Cities like Baroma in Awdal, Somaliland, has been able to maintain peace and business activities without a state.

(Amoud University 2006). Borama illustrates that a large city with a variety of businesses can exist without a national government. The fact that international companies are willing to do business in stateless Somalia is also encouraging.”[25]

Observers of the UNDP, UNICEF, UNESCO, WORLD BANK, showed that on different ground, Somalia was either at the same level or better than its neighbors and some west African states. For instance, comparing Somalia with its neighbors on the amount of people living with less than $1 and telephone facilities, Somalia has an outstanding position. Although some observers paint a dull picture of Somalia after the collapse, it has been proven that on 18 indicators, Somalia has improved in 13 of them, since the collapse, only adult literacy and school enrollment declined. But it must be noted that, data collection is bifficult on the Somali territory, as only the Somaliland can give relatively proper data, whereas Puntland and the anarchical violent southern Somalia, provides only approximate data.

What happened in Somalia is just politically it lost its governmental institutions and thus there is no order in the way politics is established. Since 1991 there was no Somali government, Somaliland, Isaaq dominated territory (broke on the 18 may 1991) and Puntland, supporter of the Transitional National Government (TNG) unlike Somaliland, (broke in 1998) broke away and claimed their independence, thus establishing regional unrecognized governments. As the north and the central part were under regional government, the remaining of the country was controlled by warlords and ruled by violence. It is only in 2000 that the international community recognized the Transitional National Government (TNG), as Somalia's whole territory governing body, on the 14 October 2004, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, a warlord and former president of Puntland was elected by the parliament as President of Somalia. Befoe the establishment of the TNG, the United Nation and the United States, has come to the rescue of Somalia but due to internal reluctance towards foreign presence, they pulled out in 1995.

Several efforts (14 attempts in all) were made to settle the matters in Somalia, and the region was thriving in this direction. In the mid-1990s, Ethiopia hosted numerous peace conferences and initiated talks at the Ethiopian city of Sodere, which led to some level of agreement between competing factions. Egypt, Yemen, Kenya, and Italy also have attempted to bring the Somali factions together. In 1997, the Organization of African Unity and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) gave Ethiopia the mandate to pursue Somali reconciliation. In 2000, Djibouti hosted a major reconciliation conference, which in August resulted in creation of the Transitional National Government, with a 3-year mandate to pursue national reconciliation. In early 2002, Kenya organized a further reconciliation effort under IGAD sponsorship.

But some will tell the contrary, Narudin Dirie,[26] said in a speech at the University of Copenhagen, that Somalia has the highest child mortality, only one third of the children in Somalia go to school and that the life expectancy of Somalis is of 47 years old.

The human cost is worst; since state collapsed one million people died because of war, famine and diseases. In 2010, index showed that 1.5 million people are displaced in the country, 300,000 children are malnourished and 4 million people go to bed hungry. But nothing can be done according to N. Dirie, Somalia is the worst place for humanitarian workers to work, in 2009 one third of the casualties concerning humanitarian aid workers occurred in Somalia. But Somalia has never faced the problem alone; the region also has been involved in the turmoil. One of the closest and most involved countries is Ethiopia; it has always been engaged in Somali politics, the reason is that one forth of the land areas in south eastern Ethiopia (Ogaden and Haud) is inhabited by Somalis, and conflicts occurred for the control of that area in the 1970s'. In 2007 Ethiopia invaded Somalia, following the global concept of “war on terror”, the Ethiopian government was following possible Islamic radicals namely: Al-Qaeda, on the Somali territory, the invasion went on neglecting humanitarian law, and atrocities were committed to such extent that the invasion was classified as war crimes by Ethiopia who withdrew its army in 2008. Migration is one of the greatest falls out of a conflict is people displacement, in Somalia it is greater, many fled to Yemen, around 200,000 Somali are said to have left the country[27]. According to the UNHCR, there were 1 million displaced people in the country in 2007 and 600,000 people are said to have fled, to neighboring countries, Yemen, Oman and Saudi Arabia. The indicators speak by themselves, this demonstrates the gravity of the issue, and humanitarian crisis is reaching its peaks in Somalia, after the destruction of the state, is the world assisting to the destruction of a nation?

Eritrea which was a part of Ethiopia, and one of its enemies, is also engaged in Somalia. The problem is that there is a war by proxy fought in Somalia by Eritrea and Ethiopia, since 1998, because of location of their border, but Ethiopian armed forces are in a conflict against Eritrean Islamic militias in Somalia which gives way to arms supply to and through Somalia. What is more shocking in this situation is that Eritrea and Ethiopia are using Somalia as battle ground that is, they are engaged in a war on another territory and causing casualties to the Somali nation. Eritrea is arming and facilitating finance to rebels and Islamic radicals, whose branches run across Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea and Somalia. On the other side, Kenya also is involved against its will, as it has its entire army protecting its northern border against all Somali rebels attack. Finally, there is Djibouti, whose being threatened by Somalia Al- Shabab group.

The Islamic Courts Union is a group of Islamic courts which regrouped themselves to counter the Transitiona