| 2. | Somalia between Jihad and Restoration
Hardcover by Shaul Shay. Dramatic events in Somalia between June and December 2006 included the rise and fall of a radical Islamic movement, the Islamic Courts Union (ICU), which attracted global attention to the strategic area of the Horn of Africa. In this volume, Shaul Shay analyzes the background and the events that led Somalia to its current situation. Since 1991 Somalia has been defined as a failing state, one that lacks an effective central government. The vacuum of power in Somalia, in turn, enabled Al Qaida and other radical Islamic organizations to find allies and refuge in there. Shay's account shows how the presence of radical Islamic entities in the area, alongside local problems and conflicts, has turned Somalia into a focal point in the global war against terror. On June 5, 2006, the Islamic Courts Union (ICU) declared victory in its struggle against the Alliance for the Restoration of Peace and Counter Terrorism (ARPCT), a coalition of U.S. backed warlords. Shortly after their victory announcement, the ICU implemented a Taliban-style radical Islamic rule. The rule of the ICU was brief. In December 2006 they were defeated by a coalition of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) and Ethiopian forces. In spite of the ICU's defeat, internal conflict in Somalia between the ICU and the interim government of Somalia (TFG), backed by Ethiopia, is still far from concluded. Shay shows how the internal conflict may spill over into other nations, creating a larger regional theater of Jihad. He also provides some ideas on how to prevent the foundation of a new radical Islamic state that could become a haven of the Islamic terror in the Horn of Africa. This volume is instructive in demonstrating the consequences of destabilization. It will be of interest to foreign policy analysts, regional specialists, and strategists in the war against terror.
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| 8. | Somalia at the Crossroads: Challenges and Perspectives in Reconstituting a Failed State
Paperback. Since the fall of the Siad Bare regime in Somalia in 1991 and the fratricidal war that it unleashed in its wake, Somalia has been without an effective central government. Instead, warlords and their armed bandits have been controlling different parts of the country, with the former British colony of northern Somaliland unilaterally proclaiming its independence. Developments in the country since the recent transitional government was set up in 2004 have, however, presented both opportunities and challenges for the country. While much has been reported about the prevailing situation in the country, there has been a paucity of research articulating the various perspectives and challenges in the efforts to reconstitute Somalia's failed state. This book hopes to contribute in filling this gap. Contributors to the volume examine the various issues that lie behind the current situation in Somalia, seeking answers to a number of crucial questions: Why did the Somali state fail? What role did external actors and the internal configurations of the Somalis' socio-political structure play in the state collapse? Did the various peace and reconciliation conferences really achieve anything? Should Somalia be reconstituted as one state or should more than one state be allowed to emerge from the ashes of the collapsed state? What is the way forward out of the current imbroglio in Somalia? ________________________________________________________ Dr Abdulahi A. Osman currently teaches comparative politics and African politics at the Department of International Affairs and African Studies Institute, at the University of Georgia, USA. His teaching and research interests include African politics, governance, regional and international studies, peace and conflict, internal security and wars, comparative governments in the Third World. He has published several book chapters and articles in scholarly journals, including African Renaissance and Journal of Ethno-Development. Issaka K. Souaré is a PhD candidate in the department of political science at the Université du Québec à Montréal (Canada). A Contributing Editor to the London-based review journal, African Renaissance, he is the author of numerous publications relating to Africa, including Africa in the United Nations System, 1945-2005 (London, 2006); Civil Wars and Coups d'État in West Africa (Lanham, 2006), and the novel, Samassi (London, 2004).
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