Somalia – a country located in the troubled region of Horn of Africa with abundant proven natural resources and people with natural entrepreneurial spirit and talent – has a long history marked by the failure of its governance systems as the root cause of its calamities. My examinations of history have led me to believe that Somali’s successive governance failures are not a recent phenomenon but it has deep historical roots and all the seeds of Somalia’s governance troubles can be traced back to its colonial past, demonstrating the complexities and challenges of Somali’s nation-building. However, when condensing a topic of such a great complexity and importance into a single article, its essential to acknowledge the inherent limitations. Therefore,given the depth and breadth of this subject, this article offers a condensed overview about the topic, capturing key points in history, while recognizing that more could be explored. For a comprehensive understanding of the topic, further reading and research are recommended.
Colonial Era: In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Somali’s major cities was divided among colonial powers – Britain, Italy and French. This partitioning created artificial boundaries and fundamentally disrupted traditional governance structures of Somalis. Immediately after their arrival, colonialrulers imposed their administrative systems without considering the cultural values, context and the existing social structures intrinsic to Somali society. As a result of the distorted colonialialpractices and intentions, very earlier on in the 20th century, independence movements immediately swept across the Somali Peninsula aimed to end colonial rule in all its forms and shapes.In the contrary though, after the independence in 1960, Somaliafound itself entangled in governance systems – economic, political, and social – engineered by the former colonial powers.The euphoria of independence was therefore short-lived as Somalia, like many other African countries, faced significant challenges that made it susceptible to a continued foreign influence. As result of the inherited governance systems in place, former colonial powers continued to exert influence mainly through development aid, financial and military assistance. This aid often came with strings attached, ensuring that Somalia remained economically and militarily tied to its former colonial powers enabling them to retain significant control over key sectors. The economic policies promoted by the international financial institutions tend also to concur with the colonial power’s interests rather than fostering genuine economic, social and political independence for the former colonies. Economic sector, which primarily holds the key for the development and modernization of the nation was particularlyheavily reliant on the support of international institutions as well as the export of raw materials mainly to the former colonialcountries – this was evident in Somali’s reliance on agricultural exports to Italy, where instead of establishing a win-win situation for both sides by instituting factories inside its former colony to process the abundant raw materials available in the country and thereby boost the local economy as well as creating employment for the youth, Italy was taking key raw materials of agricultural (such as Bananas, Hides and Skins, Frankincense and Myrrh etc) and fishery products to its country for reselling and for processing. The lack of economic diversification and industrialization therefore meant that Somalia’s economy was vulnerable to fluctuations in global markets and external economic policies.
Cold war Era: During the Cold War era, the situation of the country was further complicated. Although none of these two principal super powers (Russia and USA) were not specifically part of colonial powers, yet they vied for influence in thisstrategically located country – Somalia – by providing military and financial support to the Somali government. This external involvement was often described equally dangerous to Somalia as it had exacerbated internal divisions, further undermininglocal political stability as they sought to maintain their influence by supporting certain factions or leaders who were sympathetic to their respective interests. By supporting these groups/individuals, the competing super powers wanted to ensure that the political decisions in Somalia would not undermine their respective economic and strategic objectives in the country or the region. Therefore, the military and security ties with these super powers, during the cold war era, have also proven to be another sinister approach to maintaining influence. For instance, during this period, Somalia received substantial military aid from both Western and Eastern blocs. In addition to the economic dependence created by colonial powers, the military dependence has also created a scenario where Somali leaders had to align their policies with those of their military patrons, like the Soviet Union, which was continuously providing military support to Somalia up until the Western Somalia’s War with Ethiopia in 1977-1978 broke out, and Somalia switched allegiances to the United States. This shift did not diminish the country’s dependence either but it only changed the dynamics of its foreign relations as the influx of military aid from the U.S.A came with equal expectations of political alignment for American interests in the country and the region.
Cultural and Educational Influence: education sector was not spared either as cultural and educational influence also played a significant role in maintaining the inherited governance systems. The educational systems established by colonial powers remained in place, promoting languages and curricula that reflected the colonial legacy. In Somalia, the Italian influence, particularly, persisted in education and cultural institutions in the country, reinforcing a connection to the former colonial power. For instance, scholarships and educational exchanges was partly designed to further cemented these ties, hence, this has created a class of Italian-educated elites who were more likely to maintain pro-colonial policies and perspectives.
The multifaceted strategies employed by colonial powers to maintain influence post-independence-Somalia highlight the sophistication and complexity of the decolonization process. Economic, political, military, and cultural dependencies were deliberately cultivated to ensure that the newly independent state remained within the sphere of influence of its former colonizer, among others. Somalia’s post-independence trajectory therefore illustrates how these strategies played out in practice long after the formal end of colonial rule. Therefore, understanding these dynamics is crucial for addressing the ongoing challenges faced in Somalia today in order to promote a genuine peace and prosperity in the country.
The unsuccessful efforts of the successive Somali governments: Upon gaining independence in 1960, the newly born nation was left with tremendous challenges. Somaliainherited incompatible governance systems as the colonial powers left behind dependent and a weak institutional framework, making it difficult for Somalia to establish a stable government ever since. During the early days of the independence were characterised by a sense of national unity and ambitious goals in building a modern state. The first government led by President Aden Abdulle Osman (May Allah have a Mercy on Him) and later on by President Abdirashid Ali Sharma’arke (May Allah have a Mercy on Him) sought to create a cohesive national identity and foster economic development. Although both Presidents and the rest of SYL memberscollectively played a pivotal role in trying to create an impression of stability, yet the political environment soon became more fragmented and contentious. Clan politics started to resurface undermining the effectiveness of the central government. The parliamentary system too struggled with infighting and corruption, making it difficult to address the then pressing needs of the Somali people. For example, despite the tremendous other natural resources endowed to Somalia that can be developed, Somali people were and still are economically largely agrarian and majority of them engage in subsistence farming and pastoralism, whilst, the government relied heavily on foreign aid to fund the few developmental projects. In both cases, the efforts of the government to modernise the agriculture sector to achieve food security was often hampered by inefficiency and mismanagement within the administration and sometimes outside influence, let alone to become financially self-sufficient to implement developmental projects. On the other hand, the then Somali government’s foreign policy was characterized by the desire to assert its sovereignty and its rightful role in the region and the world. One of the most significant foreign policy issue though was the constitutionally mandated policy of realising the greater Somalia vision, which the government sought to unite all the Somali territories in the Horn of Africa. This policy angered the former colonial powers alike who considered it as a direct challenge to their territorial divisions and control – both in the colonial and post-colonial eras-, hence, Britain, Italy and French divided the Somali Peninsula among themselves with a blatant disregard of ethnic or cultural boundaries of the societies in the Horn of Africa region.
Revolutionary Era: The assassination of President Abdirashid Ali Sharma’arke (May Allah have a Mercy on Him) and the bloodless coup led by Gen. Mohamed Siad Barre (May Allah have a Mercy on Him) that followed, which initially received a widespread support from the Somali people has changed everything and has become another significant chapter in the history of Somalia. When the military took over the power in October 1969, the previous governance system inherited from the colonial powers was considered a failure and unsuitable for Somalia. Therefore, the new leadership immediately suspended the constitution, dissolved the parliament and ban political parties, promising to modernise the country through the vision of “Scientific Socialism”, which was a blend of Marxist-Leninist principle with Somali traditional values. They also started nationalizing banks, insurance companies and major other industries and agricultural land. Immediately after they settled,the military government prioritised educational development,launching a massive campaign in the early 70s. Somali language was made the official language of the country and a new Latin script was adopted to increase literacy rates all over the country. In addition, the government invested in healthcare and infrastructure, building hospitals, schools, factories and roadsamong other infrastructures. The government also promoted Somali nationalism seeking to reduce the influence of clans in public spheres and foster a unified national identity. However, in terms of foreign policy, the vision for uniting the Somali territories in the Horn of Africa region remained unchanged. Unlike the previous government though, new military leadership’s foreign policy alliance was characterised by shifting relationships, initially with the Soviet Union and later with the United States, seeking to develop and modernize Somalia.
Despite the successful achievement that the military governmenthas made during its heydays in terms of literacy, healthcare, industrialization, building promising Somali security forces, infrastructure, anti-corruption etc, the dependency syndrome haunted them and the nationalised industries started to decline, agricultural sector struggled to produce efficiently, foreign aid started to dwindle and as a result the economy eventually begun to collapse in mid-80s. Furthermore, armed oppositions start to emerge and with the support of the then Ethiopian regime et. al., started to engage wars with Somalia National Army Forces. In response, the government started to repress those armed rebellions, which further fuelled the situation. eventually, the situation had deteriorated into a full-scale civil war and this hasunfortunately marked the beginning of one of the longest civil-wars in Africa – if not the world – and also the beginning ofsocial, economic, and political fragmentation of Somalia, which can be characterised as “the Catastrophe of the Somali Nationor the Somali Nakba”.
Civil War Era: The absence of the central government resulted in a power vacuum, and various warlords and clan militias vied for control in different parts of the country, and sometimes parts of a city/town, leading the country to descent into full civil war resulting widespread violence and inconceivable human suffering. This power vacuum and ongoing instability provided fertile ground for extremist and interest groups to gain unwarranted political, social and economic influence. However, unlike other groups, the rise of extremism groups, like Al-Shabab, has severely underminedefforts to establish a stable government in the country. But despite their destructive and indoctrinated nature, even Al-Shabab claim that the governance system is unfitting to Somaliculture and values, and in their view, it does not fit for purpose,therefore they proclaim to better govern Somalia via Sharia law aiming the cancellation of the constitutional rule, electoral democracy and federal system.
Federalism Era: As part of their quest to regain country’snationhood, mainstream Somali stakeholders came to believe that adopting a federal system of governance may address Somali’s historical governance failures, where the Federal Government (FG) works alongside with the Federal Member States (FMSs) and the power between the central government and regional entities can be balanced via federal system. While this approach seemed to hold promise for some, yet it facedsignificant challenges, including disputes over resource allocation, political infighting, misconception of the federalism system and most importantly, considerable number of Somalisperceive federalism as unfit for the Somali society as a system of governance.
Despite the challenges, it is evident that each and every administration in Somalia from 1960 to 1991 and beyond was genuinely pursuing to modernize Somalia and held an immense significance for the development of the country and try to chart a course toward peaceful, stable, and prosperous country, though with different approaches and methods. However, with the inherited governance systems from the colonial powers and their economic, political and sometimes social influences, has proven to be unsurmountable challenges to achieve peaceful and prosperous Somalia. All these administrations recognized that developing trade, promoting employment and industrialization serves as a precursor for the peace and development of the country through fostering economic growth, but the colonial powers with their dependence tactics and string economic, and political influences dominated the governance system, pursuing to impose standardized modernization based on their unique traditions, cultures, and values contrary to the local people’s tradition, culture, and values developed over millennia.
As long as this domination continues, it is clear that any attempt to modernize Somalia will end up failure, irrespective of who comes to power and how much he tries to modernize the nation, because dependency created and developed over the years,intended to ensure dominance undermins any attempt to realizenation’s aspirations. furthermore, the successive failures of Somalia’s governing systems over the decades is a reminder that sustainable governance system cannot be achieved through external imposition but must be built on the foundations of local traditions and a deep understanding of the socio-political and socio-economic landscape of the country. Therefore, all stakeholders need to understand that Somalia can ONLY regain peace and stability in tailoring its policies and modernizationstrategies based on its specific needs, values, context, and circumstances, whilst, at the same time, any Somali owned and Somali led governing system should be exercised within the framework of responsible global citizenship and cooperation,however, leaving Somalia in a state of limbo or maintaining to impose unfitting governance systems from colonial past poses significant security threat not only to Somalia but to the entire Horn of Africa region and beyond as the absence of stable and peaceful Somalia will undoubtedly perpetuate the chronic poverty and thereby insecurity in the country and in the region.
In conclusion, the perpetual failure of Somalia’s governing system from democracy to military rule, to clansim/chaos to federalism underscores that there is missing link in each and every attempt Somalis has made to build a modern nation, underlining, “the need for initiating a unforced governance system that can fit with the local context, culture, values and circumstances. his also indicats that the perpetual failure of Somalia’s governing system was not Somali leadership issue,rather, it was mainly due to the pre-engineered colonial governance system, which from the inception, was designed to create dependency. Addressing this historical failure requires a nuanced approach that respects and integrates local context, culture and values into governance structures and thereby fosters inclusive political processes, while also exercising within the framework of responsible global citizenship and cooperation – despite the natural disparities, there is no compatibility issue between the modern governance systems and a fit-for-purposegovernance system for Somalia.
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Author: Mr Balal Mohamed Cusman, Former State Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Somalia.
Email: [email protected]
X: @BalalCusman
