Doyen of Somali Studies, Prof Ioan Lewis's review of Prof Iqbal Jhazbhay's book on Somaliland
Written by Onlinelibrary
Book Review: International Affairs 86: 6, 2010, page 1451
Somaliland: an African struggle for nationhood and international recognition. By
Iqbal D. Jhazbhay.
Johannesburg: Acumen. 2009. 243pp. R185.00. isbn 978 1 92021 620 7.
Ali Mazrui in his foreword rightly characterizes this compact book as a significant contribution
to understanding Somaliland and the predicament of the Somali people more
generally. Although the international community still fails to recognize it officially, the
Somaliland Republic (the former British Somaliland) has existed de facto as a lively small
state since it split off from Somalia in 1991. Iqbal Jhazbhay, a South African political scientist,
examines the Somalilanders' quest for recognition, presenting their case with clarity
and sympathy, analysing the factors which have so far militated against the achievement of
this aim.
The book's particular strengths reflect the author's academic background in International
Relations, work with the ANC, and the South African Institute of International
Affairs. These provide a fresh approach to the problem and one which highlights Africanist
and African Union interpretations of the issues it raises. On these, in terms both of theory
and practice, Jhazbhay speaks with authority.
The book opens with a brief and somewhat selective historical sketch of the formation
of the Somaliland state, very appropriately stressing the bottom-up decentralized agreements
which have brought its constituent clans together. The resulting bicameral government
(elected party representatives and clan elders) is closely based on the uncentralized
traditional political system which is highly democratic, at least in terms of male representation
and decision-making. The next section deals with reconstruction, although, as the
author aptly remarks, 'there is no neat cut-off point between reconciliation and reconstruction'.
In the formative history of what is today the Somaliland Republic, these two
activities can be viewed as 'mutually reinforcing imperatives'. In the construction of the
new Somaliland state, as Jhazbhay emphasizes, the clan elders throughout the land have
played a crucial role, and are now a similarly significant force in contemporary government,
jointly with elected politicians.
Relations, work with the ANC, and the South African Institute of International
Affairs. These provide a fresh approach to the problem and one which highlights Africanist
and African Union interpretations of the issues it raises. On these, in terms both of theory
and practice, Jhazbhay speaks with authority.
The book opens with a brief and somewhat selective historical sketch of the formation
of the Somaliland state, very appropriately stressing the bottom-up decentralized agreements
which have brought its constituent clans together. The resulting bicameral government
(elected party representatives and clan elders) is closely based on the uncentralized
traditional political system which is highly democratic, at least in terms of male representation
and decision-making. The next section deals with reconstruction, although, as the
author aptly remarks, 'there is no neat cut-off point between reconciliation and reconstruction'.
In the formative history of what is today the Somaliland Republic, these two
activities can be viewed as 'mutually reinforcing imperatives'. In the construction of the
new Somaliland state, as Jhazbhay emphasizes, the clan elders throughout the land have
played a crucial role, and are now a similarly significant force in contemporary government,
jointly with elected politicians.
The highly significant part played by the country's over a million expatriate nationals, especially through the remittances they send home (worth anestimated US$500 million annually), is fully acknowledged.
Islam naturally receives due attention in the picture Jhazbhay paints, which claims,
somewhat misleadingly, that Somali xenophobia does not extend to fellow Muslims. It
does, and there is certainly a growing opposition to the militarily dominant al-Shabaab
fundamentalists who are currently trying to establish Saudi theological control throughout
the whole Somali region and, in the process, are violating the graves of local Sufi saints, to
the consternation of many Somalis. 'Meanwhile, a second generation of Islamism emerges
from a class of politically conscious and entrepreneurially aggressive
wadaads (religious functionaries) in Somaliland who compete for leadership within the country's democratic system'. The future impact of this remains to be seen.
Finally, in a valuable assessment of the recognition issue, the author justly points out that
Somalia 'no longer exists … despite the fiction dreamt up by African, Arab, and international
diplomacy to serve their vested political interests'. Those who seek a realistic solution
to the Horn of Africa's threateningly active Islamist fundamentalism must grasp this, and
accurately evaluate Somaliland's potential contribution to moderation and stability in the
region.
Ioan M. Lewis, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/inta.2010.86.issue-6/issuetoc
Islam naturally receives due attention in the picture Jhazbhay paints, which claims,
somewhat misleadingly, that Somali xenophobia does not extend to fellow Muslims. It
does, and there is certainly a growing opposition to the militarily dominant al-Shabaab
fundamentalists who are currently trying to establish Saudi theological control throughout
the whole Somali region and, in the process, are violating the graves of local Sufi saints, to
the consternation of many Somalis. 'Meanwhile, a second generation of Islamism emerges
from a class of politically conscious and entrepreneurially aggressive
wadaads (religious functionaries) in Somaliland who compete for leadership within the country's democratic system'. The future impact of this remains to be seen.
Finally, in a valuable assessment of the recognition issue, the author justly points out that
Somalia 'no longer exists … despite the fiction dreamt up by African, Arab, and international
diplomacy to serve their vested political interests'. Those who seek a realistic solution
to the Horn of Africa's threateningly active Islamist fundamentalism must grasp this, and
accurately evaluate Somaliland's potential contribution to moderation and stability in the
region.
Ioan M. Lewis, London School of Economics and Political Science, UK
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/inta.2010.86.issue-6/issuetoc
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