Consider Somaliland African Social Studies Series Editorial Board Martin R. Doornbos, International Institute of Social Studies, The Hague Carola Lentz, University of Mainz John Lonsdale, University of Cambridge VOLUME 26 The titles published in this series are listed at www.brill.nl/afss Consider Somaliland State-Building with Traditional Leaders and Institutions By Marleen Renders LEIDEN • BOSTON 2012 Cover illustration: Three Elders in Erigavo, 2005 (by Ulf Terlinden) The publication of this study was made possible with a grant from the Conflict Research Group of Ghent University. This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Renders, Marleen. Consider Somaliland : state-building with traditional leaders and institutions / by Marleen Renders. p. cm. -- (African social studies series ; v. 26) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-90-04-21848-2 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Somaliland (Secessionist government, 1991- )-- Politics and government. 2. Nation-building--Somaliland (Secessionist government, 1991- ) 3. Newly independent states--Africa, Northeast. 4. Somalia--Politics and government--1991- I. Title. II. Series: African social studies series ; v. 26. DT407.4.R46 2012 967.73--dc23 2011042628 This publication has been typeset in the multilingual “Brill” typeface. With over 5,100 characters covering Latin, IPA, Greek, and Cyrillic, this typeface is especially suitable for use in the humanities. For more information, please see www.brill.nl/brill-typeface. ISSN 1568-1203 ISBN 978 90 04 21848 2 (paperback) ISBN 978 90 04 22254 0 (e-book) Copyright 2012 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Global Oriental, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhofff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. To Stefan, Kato and Fien CONTENTS List of Abbreviations ...............................................................................................xi List of Illustrations .................................................................................................xiii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................ xv A Note on Somali Orthography and Transliteration ...................................xvii Introduction: Places That Do Not Exist ...............................................................1 A. State-Making in Somaliland......................................................................2 B. Data Collection .............................................................................................5 C. Plan of the Book .......................................................................................... 9 I Challenging Received Notions of Statehood, State Failure and State-Building ..................................................................13 A. Defijining a State: Somaliland’s Claim to Statehood ..........................15 B. Failing What? ..............................................................................................17 C. Persistent Anachronisms .........................................................................21 D. Anachronisms as Patches for State Failure ....................................... 22 E. Invented Traditions and the Making of African States: A Two Way-Process .................................................................... 25 F. State-Making Reconsidered: Bringing Politics Back in .................. 27 G. Concluding Remarks: Concepts, Discourse and Politics ............... 29 II The Failing State. What Has Clan Got to Do With It? ........................... 33 A. The Somaliland Protectorate and the Introduction of the Modern Nation State ..........................................35 B. Colonial Administration and State Building .....................................42 C. Clanship Mediated Politics in Cold War Somalia ............................45 D. Concluding Remarks: Failed State Building? .................................... 57 III The Emergence of the Somali National Movement as a Clan-Supported Opposition Force ..................................................... 59 A. Growing Oppositions in the Northwest .............................................60 B. Becoming Isaaq .........................................................................................72 C. SNM Fighting in the Northwest ............................................................79 D. Concluding Remarks ................................................................................85 viii contents IV Clan Elders and the Forging of a Hybrid State ...................................... 87 A. The Role of Clan Elders in the Undoing of the SNM .................... 87 B. SNM Heartland: Clan Elders’ Negotiating Power over State Resources .............................................................................96 C. Peace, Governance and State Outside the Isaaq Heartland ......104 D. Conclusion ...............................................................................................115 V “At the Centre of Peace and War”: Pragmatic State Building Under the Egal Government, 1993–1997 ......................117 A. Somaliland and UNOSOM II ...............................................................117 B. The Airport War ....................................................................................126 C. Regime Consolidation Via War … and ‘Traditional’ Peace Making .........................................................................................140 D. Concluding Remarks ............................................................................150 VI Looking Like a Proper State .......................................................................153 A. The Hargeysa ‘Clan Conference’ and the End of Clan-Based Representation ...........................................................154 B. Undoing Local Governance Arrangements While Outsourcing Security and Public Order. .........................................159 C. Centralising Symbolic and Material Resources ............................168 D. Concluding Remarks ............................................................................174 VII Claiming the Eastern Borderlands ..........................................................177 A. The Dhulbahante and Somaliland ...................................................178 B. Competing State Claims ......................................................................181 C. Shifting Sands and Loose Ends ..........................................................190 D. Concluding Remarks ............................................................................194 VIII Egal’s Political and Institutional Tailpiece ............................................197 A. The Referendum on the Draft Constitution and the Introduction of the Multi-Party System ..................................198 B. The Opposition Sultaans....................................................................204 C. Toward the First Election ....................................................................211 D. Conclusion ..............................................................................................221 IX Somaliland as a Model for Building Proper States? ...........................225 A. Transitioning into the Post-Egal Era ...............................................228 B. The Elections: Clan Politics Through the Back Door .................236 contents ix C. Somaliland after the First Round of Elections under the Multi-party System ..............................................................................255 D. Conclusion .............................................................................................263 Bibliography ...........................................................................................................267 Index.........................................................................................................................283 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ASAD Alliance for Salvation and Democracy ECHO European Commission Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection EU European Union HPO hybrid political order IGAD Intergovernmental Authority on Development MOD Maheran–Ogaden–Darood NEC National Electoral Commission NSS National Security Service OAU Organisation of African Unity RPAPL Regulation of Political Associations and Parties Law SAPD Somaliland Academy for Peace and Development SNM Somali National Movement SRRC Somali Reconciliation and Restoration Council SSDF Somali Salvation Democratic Front TFG Transitional Federal Government TNA Transitional National Assembly TNG Transitional National Government UCID Justice and Welfare Party UDUB Democratic United People’s Movement UN United Nations UNCAS United Nations Common Air Services UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNOSOM United Nations Operation in Somalia UNSC United Nations Security Council Resolution USD United States dollar USP United Somali Party USSR Union of Socialist