Demystifying Pan-Somali Nationalism Through a Historical Analysis of Nation-building: The Case for Ethno-consociationalism.

Introduction There are many political and socio-economic developments that have shaped Somalia’s past and continues to the present. One such example is the rise of ‘pan-Somali nationalism’, otherwise known ‘Soomaalinimo’, which can be described as a political and ideological belief system that rests upon ethno-Somali nationalism. Those who adhere to pan-Somali nationalism specifically yearn for the establishment of a unified ‘Greater-Somalia’, whereby the five regions which historically had been inhabited by ethnic Somalis are reunified under a single Somali nation. The five territories encompassed the Italian Somaliland, the British Somali land, French Somaliland of Djibouti, The Ogaadeen region in Ethiopia and northern frontier district which British colonial administers incorporated into Kenya (Taylor 2014, 91). The discourse of pan-Somali nationalism implies that Somalis are hostages of a neo-colonial project and that the current boundaries of the Somali state are artificial. As...Show moreIntroduction There are many political and socio-economic developments that have shaped Somalia’s past and continues to the present. One such example is the rise of ‘pan-Somali nationalism’, otherwise known ‘Soomaalinimo’, which can be described as a political and ideological belief system that rests upon ethno-Somali nationalism. Those who adhere to pan-Somali nationalism specifically yearn for the establishment of a unified ‘Greater-Somalia’, whereby the five regions which historically had been inhabited by ethnic Somalis are reunified under a single Somali nation. The five territories encompassed the Italian Somaliland, the British Somali land, French Somaliland of Djibouti, The Ogaadeen region in Ethiopia and northern frontier district which British colonial administers incorporated into Kenya (Taylor 2014, 91). The discourse of pan-Somali nationalism implies that Somalis are hostages of a neo-colonial project and that the current boundaries of the Somali state are artificial. As such, these borders were critiqued because they were arbitrarily drawn up by colonialists and baselessly divide Somalia into five distinct states (MacArthur 2019,118). In its early stages in the second half of the 20th century, pan-Somali nationalism played a critical role in unifying different tribes and ethnic denominations that had historically been hostile to one another due to clashes over natural resources and grazing land. In fact, for the first time in history, Somalis became more nationalistic and began to share a common ‘Somali’ identity, consequently strengthening the existing Somali nationalist movements in the 1950s and 1960s (Schraeder 2006,87). Anti-colonial sentiment drove them to seek the establishment of a pan-Somali nation-state, whereby the homogeneous Somali society with its common culture, creed and ethnicity could be unified under one state (Schraeder 2006,85). The rise of pan-Somali nationalism can be specifically attributed to the emergence of a new political class of elites between 1940 and 1950. This group of elites advocated for complete independence from Italian and British colonial rules and urged the formation of a unified pan-Somali state (Lewis 2002,116). Nevertheless, within a relatively short period of time, these nationalist elites became more concerned with preserving their own tribal identities and interests than achieving national unity within the state. As such, discussions concerning discourses around Pan-Somali nationalism and Greater-Somalia become a political instrument that enabled the newly-emerged political class to maintain power (Lewis 2002,118). The dysfunctionality of PanSomali nationalism became increasingly evident in the aftermath of the 1977 Ethio-Somali war as clashes between nationalist leaders caused them to retreat in defence of their clan interests. Such events, in combination with additional historical developments, eventually culminated in the collapse of Somalia’s central government in 1992 (Alasow 2010,25). This paper investigates how ‘Pan-Somalism’ ushered in a unique euphoria that created a decisive force of shared national identity within the fragmented Somali society that had previously never experienced any sort of centralised functioning bureaucracy This paper attempts to explore how pan-Somali nationalism and its path towards modernisation clashed with Somalis’ traditional agnatic clan system. As such, this paper will demonstrate the clash between modernisation and traditional fundamentalism amongst Somalis led to the collapse of the central government. henceforth, this thesis seeks to answer the following question: How did ‘Pan-Somali nationalism’ and tribalism undermined the formation and lead to the collapse of the Somali state in the period between 1950 and 1992? The structure of the thesis is as follows: Chapter 1 highlights the historical underpinnings of pan-Somali nationalism and its effectiveness in creating a shared identity, geographical specificity and solidarity within Somali society. Chapter 2 presents the methodologies and theoretical approaches used to answer the research question. Chapter 3 examines how clannism infiltrated the Italian administration and how it derailed Somali politics, leading the country to encounter divisive tribal-based politics. Chapter 4 emphasizes the challenges of a post-independent Somalia where clannism became Some form of political source. Chapter 5 addresses the consequences of pan-Somali nationalism, putting forth a new paradigm called ethnoconsociationalism as a potential lasting solution to the Somali impasse.Show less

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Demystifying Pan-Somali Nationalism Through a Historical Analysis of Nation-building: The Case for Ethno-consociationalism.