A University of Sussex PhD thesis Available online via Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/ This thesis is protected by copyright which belongs to the author. This thesis cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the Author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the Author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Please visit Sussex Research Online for more information and further details URBAN GOVERNANCE, LAND CONFLICTS AND SEGREGATION IN HARGEISA, SOMALILAND: HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES AND CONTEMPORARY DYNAMICS ABDIFATAH I TAHIR This thesis is submitted to the Department of Geography, School of Global Studies, University of Sussex, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) OCTOBER 1, 2016 DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY SCHOOL OF GLOBAL STUDIES UNIVERSITY OF SUSSEX 1 | Page ORIGINALITY STATEMENT I hereby declare that this thesis has not been and will not be submitted in whole or in part to another University for the award of any other degree. Signature 2 | Page I. ABSTRACT This thesis offers an explanation for why urban settlement in Somaliland’s capital city of Hargeisa is segregated along clan lines. The topic of urban segregation has been neglected in both classic Somali studies, and recent studies of post-war state-building and governance in Somaliland. Such negligence of urban governance in debates over state-making stems from a predominant focus on national and regional levels, which overlooks the institutions governing cities. Yet urban governance can provide key insights into the nature and quality of interaction between people and the local state, and the processes of making and unmaking of Somali urban spaces. Given the rapid urban growth in the Somali populated territories, I propose a shift in focus to explore city spaces, as a means of deepening understanding of Somali social, political and spatial organisation. In advancing this proposed shift, the thesis scrutinises the nexus between governance and segregation in Hargeisa, drawing on urban ethnographic methods, interview and archival sources. I argue that segregation in the city can be understood as the spatial manifestation of governance practices across colonial and postcolonial periods, in intersection with bottom up processes, particularly the quest for security and peacebuilding in what is largely characterised as a hybrid order. The concept of hybrid governance – while capturing important aspects of control over city space - is often insufficiently historicised and politicised to convey the complex intersection of state institutions, clan and sub-clan allegiance and traditional authorities. My analysis thus situates recent urban governance and conflicts over land in a longer history of municipal governance, urban land administration and conflict adjudication. This historical perspective is important for the understanding of how segregation has been reproduced over time, and adds a new dimension to the understandings of the drivers and dynamics of Hargeisa’s spatial character. KEY WORDS: Urban, Segregation, State-building, Governance, Hybrid (ity), Customary, and Clan 3 | Page II. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT First and foremost, I would like to thank my supervisor, Prof JoAnn McGregor, without whose tremendous and continuous support this research would not have been possible to complete. Prof McGregor’s selfless time and attention as well as her helpful comments and constructive critiques have sharpened my thoughts and pushed me to critical boundaries that allowed me to look at issues from diverse perspectives. I must say that I could not have possibly asked for a better supervisor. I would also like to thank my secondary supervisor, Dr Ceri Oeppen, for her support and valuable advice and comments in meetings and on drafts. Similarly, my thanks go to the Observatory of Conflict and Violence Prevention in Hargeisa which not only funded this study partially but also provided me with connections and logistical support. I am particularly indebted to its Director, Abdullahi Odowa, the Head of the Research Department, Ahmed Muse, the Head of the Logistics and Human Resources Department, Safia Ali, and the drivers, Mohamed and Saad. Indispensable also was support from the Department for International Development (DFID), and I particularly wish to thank Mr Ivan Parks who was inspirational and helpful at all times. Equally, I am indebted to thank the academic and administrative community of the University of Sussex Doctoral School for co-funding the study and School of Global Studies for their distinctive engagement and support in discussions, deeds and dealings. My thanks also go to all the people who either facilitated access to information or provided me with data in both oral and written forms. Because of the limitations in space, I cannot mention them all but a few, including Mohamed Abdi, Mohamed Diriye, Abdifatah Ibrahim, Mohamed Hussein, Mohamed Farah, Hussein Samatar, Ibrahim Idle, and Jamal Qawdan. I also would like to thank all the other individuals or institutions that helped me in some form or shape in the process of conducting this research, whom I have not implicitly or explicitly acknowledged. Last but not least, I wish to thank my family members whose names I cannot, for practical and political reasons (entirely domestic in nature), list here. 4 | Page III. LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: Map of Hargeisa .......................................................................................................... 13 Figure 2: Somaliland Administrative Map .................................................................................. 14 Figure 3: The annual Distribution of Cases handled by the Land Commissions, 2009-13 ........ 141 Figure 4: The Spatial Distribution of Land Disputes Handled by the Land Commissions, 2009-13 .................................................................................................................................................. 142 Figure 5: Active Conflict on a Plot of Land in Masalaha, a neighbourhood in Southern Hargeisa .................................................................................................................................................. 157 Figure 6: Weapons used in the attack, as claimed by security officials ................................... 200 Figure 7: Government officials speaking to the media in the aftermath of the incident ......... 201 IV. LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Urban and rural population, urban proportion and average annual rate of change .... 10 Table 2: The range of key informant and general interviews ..................................................... 53 Table 3: The list of focus groups ................................................................................................. 54 Table 4: Number of flights in Hargeisa Egal International Airport ........................................... 165 Table 5: The Volume (Kg) of cargo Handled at Hargeisa Airport .............................................. 166 Table 6: The Number of Passengers Handled at Hargeisa Airport ........................................... 166 5 | Page V. LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS APD Academy for Peace and Development CACAS Civil Aviation Caretaker Authority for Somalia DC District Commissioner DRC Danish Refugee Council DDF District Development Framework DFID Department for International Development ICAO International Civil Aviation Organisation IFC International Finance Corporation INGO International Non-Governmental Organisations JPLG Joint Program for Local Governance LUMI Land Urban Management Institute MA Ministry of Agriculture MCAAT Ministry of Civil Aviation and Air Transport MD Ministry of Defence MFA Ministry of Foreign Affairs MH Ministry of Health MI Ministry of Information MJ Ministry of Justice ML Ministry of Livestock MMR Ministry of Mineral Resources MNPD Ministry of National Planning and Development MOI Ministry of Interior MOP Ministry of the Office of the Presidency MPT Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications MPWHT Ministry of Public Works, Housing and Transportation MRDE Ministry of Rural Development and Environment NUPI National Urban Planning Board NGO Non-Governmental Organisation OCVP Observatory of Conflict and Violence Prevention PC Provincial Commissioner RDP Reconstruction and Development Program RRA Rahanweyn Resistance Army SNL Somali National League SM Spokesman Movement SNM Somali National Movement SORADI Social Research and Development Institute SPR Standards and Recommended Practices SSP State Safety Programs SYL Somali Youth League UCID Ururka Cadaalada iyo Daryeelka UDUB Ururka Dimuqraadiga Ummadda Bahawday UN United Nations UN-Habitat United Nations Habitat Program UNDP United Nations Development Program WB World Bank 6 | Page TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 9 1.1 Why Hargeisa? ................................................................................................................ 11 1.2 Research Aims and Questions ........................................................................................ 14 1.3 Structure of the Thesis ................................................................................................... 15 CHAPTER 2 DEBATING HYBRID GOVERNANCE