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Somali Sovereignty Index (Burke Index), 2024-2025
03.09.2025 16:24
indexAfrican Studies: One-Year master’s degree Thesis 15 Credits. Second Cycle Level1After Berlin Conference in 1884 to 1885, Somalia was partitioned into five parts by Britain, Italy, and French. In 1960 two parts gained independence and formed the Somali Republic, and since then successive Somali governments sought to incorporate the other three parts of Somali territories under Ethiopia, Kenya and French Somaliland known as Djibouti into Greater Somalia.
Why Has Somaliland Not Been Recognised as A Sovereign State?After the collapse of the Somali state, civil war followed, leading people to turn to their ancestral homeland. Consequently, rudimental local administrations were formed with a provision of becoming part of a decentralised governance system in Somalia. However, one region stood differently by declaring itself a separate state, Somaliland, within the boundaries of the former British Somaliland Protectorate. To overcome the objections of African countries about the session, Somaliland claimed that its declaration of independence in 1991 was supposed to be a dissolution of the union rather than a declaration of separation. This idea follows in the footsteps of other failed federations, such as the United Arab Republic, which included Egypt and Syria from 1958 to 1961, or the Senegambia Confederation, which existed between Senegal and the Gambia from 1981 to 1989. These failed political unions symbolized the breakup of that union and the restoration of the protectorate's original, pre-1960 borders. (Gordon, 2023) Britain granted Somaliland independence on June 26 1960, and after four days, it joined with the former UN Italian Somaliland Trusteeship Territory to form the Republic of Somalia. Thus, Somaliland's case differed markedly from the other regions as it wanted to stand as a separate nation-state within Africa. Yet, over thirty years have passed, and Somaliland has not been recognised as a sovereign entity. To answer why it happened, we have to look at the historical factors on state formation in Africa and how newly independent countries treated colonially inherited boundaries.
How the Somali government works with the traditional clanbased systems: literature reviewSomalia, located in the Horn of Africa, has a complex history influenced by tribalism, colonialism, and internal conflict. During the colonial era, European powers collaborated with clan leaders, resulting in Somalia's division along clan and tribal lines. This division led to the creation of artificial borders, which fragmented the land and fostered regional and clan-based identities. After gaining independence in 1960, Somalia initially aimed to establish a strong, centralized state. The Siad Barre regime, which came to power through a military coup in 1969, tried to suppress clan and regional identities in favor of a communist ideology. However, the regime's downfall in 1991 plunged Somalia into a prolonged period of violence and state collapse. Warlords and clan-based factions fought for power, leading to a protracted civil war. This paper analyzes the intricate relationship between Somalia's traditional and modern governance systems. It examines the potential for collaboration, the challenges faced in nation-building efforts, and the lasting impact of clan-based structures. The study begins by exploring traditional governance, highlighting the important role of customary law, elders, and religious clerics in consensus-building mechanisms and maintaining social harmony. It emphasizes the historical significance and contemporary relevance of these institutions. The paper then delves into the challenges involved in establishing a modern state in Somalia. It examines the obstacles that hinder the realization of democratic ideals and the establishment of a centralized administration. A key focus is evaluating the potential synergies and conflicts between traditional and modern systems.
Somaliland: Dynamics of internal legitimacy and (lack of) external sovereigntyDespite its strong legal and historical claims to sovereignty, the Republic of Somaliland remains entirely unrecognized by the international community more than 20 years after it proclaimed independence from Somalia in 1991. Paradoxically, Somaliland’s lack of external legitimacy has, in some ways, facilitated the growth and development of its internal legitimacy. In contrast, Somalia enjoys widespread external recognition from the international community but has very little domestic legitimacy and largely fails to govern effectively the territory it claims. Somaliland’s high degree of domestic legitimacy and its strong desire for external recognition increasingly come into conflict with one another both in the eastern parts of Somaliland and in the continued democratic development of its hybrid domestic political institutions. The safest prediction for Somaliland is continued de facto statehood where its strong internal legitimacy enables it to survive in a hostile external environment but fails to translate into widespread sovereign recognition of its significant domestic accomplishments. Ultimately, though, Somaliland’s ability to deliver the ‘‘goods’’ on economic development and poverty reduction for its citizens will be significantly hampered without external recognition of its domestic achievements.