Amoud University

World Development Vol. 29, No. 4, pp. 641±656, 2001 Ó 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved Printed in Great Britain www.elsevier.com/locate/worlddev 0305-750X/01/$ - see front matter PII: S0305-750X00)00120-0 Somali Reconstruction and Local Initiative: Amoud University ABDI ISMAIL SAMATAR * University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA and Human Sciences Research Council, Pretoria, South Africa Summary. Ð No one could have predicted Somalia's disintegration into ``clan'' ®efdoms. The country was thought to be one of the most homogenous nation-states in Africa. Many observers stridently insist that clan structures are necessary for Somalia's rehabilitation. All international sponsored reconciliation conferences premised on the centrality of the clan failed. I argue that Somalia's shared cultural values were necessary, but an insucient basis for national cohesion. Public institutions are key to sustainingshared values and foraginganinclusive identity. Local initiatives like Amoud University, a community-owned institution, is the forerunner of a new type of Somali institution that caters to common, rather than sectarian, interests. If initial steps are sustained, this local initiative could mark the birth of a new Somalia. Ó 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved. Key words Ð Somalia, public institutions, shared values, social capital, sectarian entrepreneurs, Amoud University 1. INTRODUCTION resources declines when mined continuously without the society reinvestingin them. The Observers of African nation-states assumed callous exploitation of shared cultural resources that Somalia was unique in the continent as the not only impoverishes their richness and resil- nation and the state nearly overlapped. The iency, but may also turn them into a national population shared many social and cultural liability. This is exactly what has transpired in traits, such as language, mode of economic Somalia. If a society does not take the long- production, and religion. Given its social and term vitality of cultural resources for granted, cultural base, the state was thought to be via- however, but continuously and consciously ble. Just over a decade ago, it would have been replenishes their richness and value, they will impossible to imagine the disintegration of the continue to be a source of social cohesion. This Somali state. Today, many political commen- means that a society must actively nourish tators are similarly strident about the clan inherited shared values and develop new ones structure beingessential to the very essence of a that reinforce the appeal of this common heri- Somali community. The commentators argue tage. that it is not possible to reconstruct Somalia The most important addition to Somalia's without the clan beingthe basis of the new pool of shared resources since the middle of last polity. century has been the 7colonial) state and its These essentialist arguments are grounded on institutions. The imposition of the state, in its a limited understandingof Somali political colonial and post-colonial forms, induced history. They also lack an appreciation of the art of state formation. The ``shared social and cultural heritage'' thesis fails to recognize that * I want to thank the supporters, sta and students of common traits can form a necessary, but Amoud University, and the Borama public for respond- insucient foundation for buildingstate insti- ingto my questions. Special gratitudeto Hajis Dahir tutions that cater to the community's collective Elmi and Jama Muhmumed, Suliman Ahmed Gulaid, interest. The ability of cultural resources to Abdirahman H. Dahir, and Mohamed Abdillahi You- bind a society together depends on how they nis. I appreciate the useful suggestions made by two are used. The socially unifyingappeal of these referees. Final revision accepted: 1 November 2000. 641 642 WORLD DEVELOPMENT social processes that had the potential to rein- cause. Shared values across communities are force and positively transform shared value in the basis of civic bonds and trust in a society. an inclusive manner, or to undermine and But the state must take leadership in nurturing distort their appeal to the entire community. 1 society-wide civic bonds. Communities, in turn, The state's impact on the vitality of shared must scrupulously monitor state actions to values, depends on whether the authorities use ensure that public institutions function in ways public institutions to nurture a common or that consistently enhance the quality of those sectarian agenda. The diminishing attractive- shared values. Such partnership between state ness of traditional shared Somali values is not and community will facilitate social capital due to Somalis' primordial predisposition for generation in relatively short time. 6 divisiveness. Instead it is due to the misuse of The followingdiscussion about Amoud public institutions and resources for private University shows that buildingpeople's con®- gain. Moreover, the use of public power to dence that they can work together for common intimidate and punish those who try to protect good and establishing their trust in public common causes has delegitimated public institutions is not necessarily a long-term authority and the worth of these public proposition. I argue that there is one critical resources. The authorities' cynical manipula- factor to reversingthe trends of the last three tion of shared values and traditions to mollify decades in Somalia. That key is to create public distrust and prolongtheir tenure further institutions that constrain sectarian entrepre- alienated the public from the state. The public neurs while strengthening shared values and is not only hostile toward the state but is deeply hopes. The community-owned Amoud mistrustful of anyone who attempts to mobilize University may signal a new type of public them on the basis of shared sentiments. institution in Somalia, one that will enhance Traditional analysts of Somali politics have accountability, rebuild public trust, and cited two occurrences as evidence of the Soma- advance a common agenda. lis' sectarian nature despite the fact that they The rest of the discussion is divided into three share a common language, culture, and reli- parts. Section 2 panoramically sketches Somali gion. 2 These occurrences are the Somalis' elite politics and describes how they destroyed recent antipathy toward the state and national- public trust for state institutions and under- ism, and the warlords' success in carvingup the mined the importance of shared norms. Section country into ®efdoms. Advocates of the clanist 3 narrates how Borama community members thesis wrongly insist that a clan-based federal are tryingto resuscitate common cause through dispensation is the only political formula that the establishment of Amoud University. will reunite Somalia. They erroneously assume Section 4 assesses Amoud University's signi®- that genealogical dierences led to Somalia's cance to the remakingof public trust in disintegration. 3 I argue that the causes of the Borama and Somalia and the re-formingof a Somali calamity are: state leaders' failure to inclusive national identity. nurture shared cultural and social commonalties and sectarian entrepreneurs' instrumentalist accentuation of social dierences. The innocu- 2. ELITE POLITICS AND DESTRUCTION ous dierences' transformation has become OF PUBLIC TRUST lethal weapon in the hands of sectarians. The state's credibility has been destroyed A key development problem in Africa is the because it failed to guard common interest and discrepancy between states' claims and the the erosion of social solidarity based on inclu- impacts of its actions on communities. Most sive values makes Somali reconstruction an Africans assume that state managers care little awesome task. Putnam's thesis that buildinga about the common good and are in business for stock of social capital requires many decades themselves and their clients. Somalis are seems to apply here. 4 If Putnam is right, it will extreme amongAfricans in this antipathy. take a longtime for generalizedsocial trust to Hostile feelings toward state authorities rarely develop 7millenarian). Tendler's thesis that existed 40 years ago when most countries public trust can be built in a relatively short become independent. Hopingto replace colo- time seems more feasible. 5 These authors' nial bosses with regimes that respected Afri- seemingly contradictory positions are reconcil- cans' dignity and managed public aairs justly, able. Communities and states can steadily Africans routed colonial authorities. This generate trust and con®dence for common section brie¯y sketches how the mismanage- AMOUD UNIVERSITY 643 ment of public institutions in Somalia turned The second republic 71964±67) is singularly Somalis' hope into despair. unique in postcolonial Somali history on two Public despondency in the continent is deep. accounts. First, the 1964 national parliamen- In fact, today citizens are shocked when they tary elections exposed the ascendancy and receive courteous and ecient service from a strength of the sectarian forces and the public servant. This sharply contrasts with opportunistic tendencies of many elite popular opinion from 40 years ago when people members. The number of political parties embraced the nationalist project. 7 Somalis proliferated into 24 as individual elite shared this optimism in 1960 and their nation- members tried to gain a parliament seat in alism generated incredible fervor and social order to loot the public

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