Régularités dans le chaos

Schlee, Günther

doi:10.4000/lhomme.138

Cited by 8 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Without going into details, because I have described the case elsewhere, 19 let me briefly recall blood-money negotiations which I had witnessed between a (numerically and militarily) strong group and a much weaker group in Northern Kenya. A herd-boy from the strong group had raped and badly cut-up a herd-girl from the weak one in the bush.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Also the parties in the Somali civil war since 1991 are made up of alliances of subclans of different clans, reminiscent of the old type of xeer (here in the sense of 'contractual') alliance across clan divisions. 13 Also Luling makes clear that clanship does not determine which alliances political leaders conclude but limits their options. 14 A large diya paying group in which every member only has to pay a small amount as his contribution to the blood-money might just pay the compensation and regard the effect of having deterred competing users from a water hole worth that price.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Customary law and the joys of statelessness: idealised traditions versus Somali realities

Schlee¹

2013

Journal of Eastern African Studies

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There is some truth in the statement that in Somalia the periods and regions least affected by struggles about the state have provided better living conditions than the ones more affected by statehood. It is also true that the state, especially in the final stage of its existence leading up to its collapse in 1991, was of a predatory nature and, rather than contributing to development, affected it adversely. There is no doubt that no state at all is better than some of the experience the Somali have made with actually existing statehood (but not in comparison with many alternative courses history could have taken). In some recent writings about Somalia, however, the advantages of statelessness have been grossly overstated, and the disadvantages of not having a functioning nation-state in a world of nation-states have grossly been neglected. Especially the Somali customary law (xeer) has been romanticized and praised as a cost-efficient mechanism for the provision of 'justice' in the absence of statehood. This paper examines the actual working of customary law and finds it to be based on negotiation, often between unequals with a number of structural advantages for the demographically, economically and militarily stronger side. Xeer does regulate the use of violence to a degree, but it does not produce 'justice' in the universal or Western sense of the term, as some of its advocates seem to assume.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%