Failed States as a Failure of Policy: A Case Study of Somalia (2011-2017)

Abstract

The case of Somalia is typical of a failed state. For close to three decades now, the country has been in an endless civil war. In the absence of a strong government, the Somali nationals languish in abject poverty due to a lack of a proper channel through which resources can reach to common citizens. The anarchy in Somalia has, therefore, precipitated a cascade of insecurity, and gross violation of human rights which thrive on the low-hanging cloud of civil animosity. In answering the fore-highlighted questions and to analyze critically the impact of lack of policy resulting to failure of states. Therefore, the paper sought to meet the following three objectives: to appreciate the role and function of policy in security formulation; to comprehend the challenges and policy gaps in the cultural setting and clannism which led to decades of conflict in Somalia and to recommend a befitting policy formulation for Somalia. In analyzing the failed states phenomenon, this study used the realist theory of international relations. This is traced back to famous theorists such as Machiavelli and Thomas Hobes to recent scholars such as Hans Morgenthau and Kenneth Waltz. In addressing the objectives of this study, the research relied on secondary data. This is due to time constraint and the period this study has to be done and finalized, relying on primary data collection was a challenge. However, some information was based on primary data gathered from colleagues who have been to Somalia on duty. The Secondary data this research relied on include: review of published books, journals, periodicals, academic references and online sources. The research design is a case study and therefore the choice of Somalia as a case study of a failed state in examining the impact of poor policy leading to failure of governance. Somalia therefore represented other failed state that has had a direct relation to poor policy. The study concludes that the long-standing civil war in Somalia is the outcome of a social process which the country has been undergoing for decades, shaped by domestic, regional and international specificities. Years of international involvement have failed to deliver any significant results. This failure has highlighted the inadequacy of top-down approaches that neglect Somalia’s social and historical uniqueness. The study concludes that Somali political actors, including the legislature, need to prioritize resolution of the broader constitutional question of how the Somali federal system will function, and how rights, responsibilities and powers will be shared between the center and the peripheries. This will provide clarity in the relationship between the FGS and the FMS, and clear the path for a more productive working relationship on all the pressing issues involved in restoring an effective Somali state, including the security sector.