Assistance to Locally Appropriate Military Forces in Southern Somalia

Robinson, Colin; Matisek, Jahara

doi:10.1080/03071847.2020.1830711

Cited by 6 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…In other words, the loyalty that political elites have towards their respective clans override that of a national interest which in this context, regards the establishment of an efficient, effective, and responsive national army. The contemporary nature of Somali clan politics emerged during Siad Barre's regime in which his attempts to consolidate power sparked an attempted coup in 1978 and divided the military along clan affiliations (Robinson and Matisek 2020).The impact of inter-clan competition in Somalia have had far-reaching impacts particularly in trying t0o establish a unified command for the SNA because both the highranking and 'foot-soldiers' continue to display loyalty to previous warlords and clans instead of the federal government. Additionally, majority of the battalions as well as military brigades have continued to be organised and operate around clan affiliations thus limiting any prospects for effective cooperation between them.…”

Section: Obstacles Against the Sna Reformsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Realizing the Horn of Africa in a New Context: Challenges and Opportunities for Peace in Somalia

Abdullah¹

2021

JISSR

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In 1991 growing political pressure and infighting led to the collapse of the Somalia government. Key institutions of governance disintegrated, and public services could no longer be provided. The Somali National Army was amongst the key institutions that collapsed and, in its place, warlords and clan militias emerged to fill the gap. Henceforth for over two decades, these non-state actors competed over control of both political and economic power while other radical organizations such as Al-Shaabab emerged with an objective to establish an Islamic state. This instability thus led to displacement of populations, insecurity both at the domestic and regional level. This thesis seeks to examine how the collapse of Somali impacted the military and why moving forward in the transitional period, reforming the military is vital to the future of Somalia and geopolitical and economic stability. The thesis adopts state building and realism as it theoretical frameworks and argues for the need of military reforms within the conceptual frameworks of security reforms. Specifically, the thesis reiterated that if the Horn of Africa and the greater Eastern Africa region is to experience geopolitical and economic stability, then the SNA should undertake key reforms in order to reinforce its capacity to resolve domestic instability in Somalia which is the causal factor in geopolitical and economic instability caused by threats such as terrorism, piracy, and bilateral tensions between regional states. The study suggests that reforms in the military such institutional capacity building, coordination of security assistance, and establishing civilian oversight over military is critical in reviving the capacity of SNA and with it, the first step towards restoring regional stability.

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Section: Obstacles Against the Sna Reformsmentioning

confidence: 99%