Anarchy in Somalia

Part of the Politics series on Anarchism

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Somalia, from 1991-present, is cited by academic scholars and in anarchist thought as a real-world example of a stateless society and legal system,^[1] primarily from an anarcho-capitalist standpoint. From the fall of Siad Barre's government in January of 1991 until the capture of Mogadishu by the Islamic Courts Union in June of 2006, there was no permanent national government in Somalia, a situation which continues as of 2007.^[2] Large areas of the country such as Somaliland, Puntland, Galmudug, Maakhir and Southwestern Somalia are internationally unrecognized autonomous regions while the remaining areas, including the capital Mogadishu, were divided into smaller territories ruled by competing warlords. In many areas there were and still are no formal regulations or licensing requirements for businesses and individuals.

Somalia is currently claimed as the sovereign territory of the Transitional Federal Government, a deeply divided collection of warlords and tribal leaders, headed by nominal President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed. Prior to December 2006, the TFG controlled only the town of Baidoa, the third largest city.^[2] The intervention of Ethiopian government forces following the rise of the Islamic Courts Union, culminating in the latter's defeat in the Battle of Baidoa, allowed the TFG to expand its control under the protection of the Ethiopians. The TFG has not been able to effectively collect taxes, has no notable finances or real power base,^[3] and has struggled to exert control over Mogadishu since an attempted move in late December 2006.^[2]

The Somali experience since the collapse of the state, especially the failure of the international intervention, has offered a clear challenge to elements of conventional economic, political and social order theory and the very premises under which Western diplomacy and development agencies operate,^[4] and in particular, in the words of anthropologist Peter D. Little, “assumptions about the role of states in maintaining order and services”.^[5]

The rule of law

See also: Consuetudinary and polycentric law

Following the downfall of the Siad Barre regime, there was effectively no formal monocentric government law in Somalia. While some urban areas such as Mogadishu had private police forces,^[6] many Somalis simply returned to the traditional clan-based legal structures for local governance and dispute resolution.^[4] Social scientists have identified the pastoralist way of life that great many Somalis lead as in tension with formal statist legal systems;^[7] political loyalties are based on clan and region rather than political party, which, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs makes the sustainability of a centralised political system "difficult".^[3]

Anthropologist Spencer MacCallum has identified the rule of law during the period as that of the Xeer, a customary law indigenous to Somalia. The law permits practices such as safe travel, trade, and marriage , which survives "to a significant degree" throughout Somalia, particularly in rural Somalia where it is "virtually unaffected".^[1] MacCallum credits the Xeer with "Somalia's success without a central government, since it provides an authentic rule of law to support trade and economic development."^[1] In the Xeer, law and crime are defined in terms of property rights; consequently the criminal justice system is compensatory rather than the punitive system of the majority of states, and the Xeer is "unequivocal in its opposition" to any form of taxation. Powell et. al (2006) find that the existence of the common law dispute resolution system in Somalia makes possible basic economic order.^[8] McCallum compares the Xeer to the common law in 6th century Scotland, and notes that there is no monopoly of either police nor judical services,^[1] a condition of polycentric law.

Social conditions

The international aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) stated that the level of daily violence during this period was "catastrophic." A statistic from 2000 indicated that only 21% of the population had access to safe drinking water at that time, and Somalia had one of the highest child mortality rates in the world with 10% of children dying at birth and 25% of those surviving birth dying before age five.^[2] Additionally, "adult literacy is estimated to have declined from the already low level of 24% in 1989 to 17.1% in 2001."^[9] A more recent 2003 study reported that the literacy rate was 19%.^[10] The impact on human development in Somalia of governmental collapse and ensuing civil war was profound, leading to the break down of political institutions, the destruction of social and economic infrastructure and massive internal and external migrations.^[9]

Social organisation in the absence of government

See also: spontaneous order

An abandoned Mogadishu street in 1993, shortly after the fall of the Siad Barre regime.

In the absence of functioning governmental institutions and regulations, voluntary non-coercive alternatives emerged to a limited extent. Commentators identify evidence of areas where the private sector adapted to the stateless environment. A 2004 World Bank study of the Somalian economy concluded that "it may be easier than is commonly thought for basic systems of finance and some infrastructure services to function where government is extremely weak or absent."^[10]

Telecommunications

Journalist Kevin Sites, after a trip to anarchic Somalia, reported: "Somalia, though brutally poor, is a kind of libertarian's dream. Free enterprise flourishes, and vigorous commercial competition is the only form of regulation. Somalia has some of the best telecommunications in Africa, with a handful of companies ready to wire home or office and provide crystal-clear service, including international long distance, for about $10 a month." Abdullahi Mohammed Hussein of Telecom Somalia stated that "the government post and telecoms company used to have a monopoly but after the regime was toppled, we were free to set up our own business."^[11] The World Bank reported in 2007 that only about 1.5% of the population had a telephone.^[10] According to the CIA World Factbook, private telephone companies "offer service in most major cities" via wireless technology, charging "the lowest international rates on the continent".^[2] The Economist cited the telephone industry in anarchic Somalia as "a vivid illustration of the way in which governments…can often be more of a hindrance than a help."^[12]

Since the fall of the government, dozens of private newspapers, radio and television stations mushroomed, with private radio stations or newspapers in almost all major towns.^[3]

Transport

In 1989, before the collapse of the government, the national airline had only one airplane. Now there are approximately fifteen airlines, over sixty aircraft, six international destinations, and more domestic routes in Somalia. Private airlines, including Air Somalia and Daallo Airlines, serve several domestic locations as well as Djibouti, the United Arab Emirates, Paris and London. According to a 2005 World Bank report, the "private airline business in Somalia is now thriving with more than five carriers and price wars between the companies."^[13] Mohammed Yassin Olad, owner of Daallo Airlines, has stated that the absence of government has led to both difficulties and benefits, and commented that "corruption is not a problem, because there is no government…We build the airports and we service the airports and we only fly when we are sure it's safe".^[13]

Education

Primary schools in Somalia have nearly doubled since 1991, without the involvement of central government.

In a 2007 study of the current state of education in Somalia since the collapse of central authority in 1991, Abdullahi Sheikh Abdinoor found that "the Somali people have adapted rather well, under the circumstances, to the absence of the state, despite continuing insecurity and lawlessness prevailing in the country." Following the destruction of educational systems and infrastructure during the civil war, nascent educational institutions have emerged in anarchy; teachers and other educators who saw the need for education "quite spontaneously" opened their own institutions.^[4]

For centuries, the Somali community, as opposed to the state, has been in charge of Islamic education in all aspects, providing financial and administrative support.^[4] The majority of the schools are provided by the free market, sustained by school fees; in cases where there are state-supported public schools, private schools are often coveted for their academic excellence, outperforming their public competitors in academic achievement tests.^[4] The number of primary schools have risen from 600 before the civil war to 1,172 schools today, with an increase of 28% in primary school enrollment over the last 3 years.^[14] Enrollment in secondary schools has also increased since 1998.^[9] In Mogadishu, the Benadir University, the Somalia National University, and the Mogadishu University are three of the eight universities providing tertiary education in Southern Somalia.

Economic impact of anarchy

In the absence of government regulation, Somali marketplaces have thrived.^[6]

Although it states that no reliable statistics are available for the period in question, the United Nations claims that Somalia, already one of the poorest countries in the world, has become even poorer as a result of civil war.^[3] However, the CIA Factbook maintains that gains were made during the early 2000s; "despite the seeming anarchy, Somalia's service sector has managed to survive and grow. Mogadishu's main market offers a variety of goods from food to the newest electronic gadgets. Hotels continue to operate, and militias provide security."

One of the poorest countries in the world in 1991, Somalia remains a very poor country, yet the distribution of wealth appears to be more uniform than in other African countries.^{[attribution needed]} When extreme poverty (percentage of individuals living on less than PPP$1 a day) was last measured by the World Bank in 1998, Somalia fared better than wealthier West African and neighboring countries, over some of whom Somalia also had superior infrastructure.^[10] The CIA World Factbook counsels that "Statistics on Somalia's GDP, growth, per capita income, and inflation should be viewed skeptically", while estimating Somalias GDP per capita at $600.

In the absence of a Somali state and its institutions, the private sector grew "impressively" according to the World Bank in 2003, particularly in the areas of trade, commerce, transport, remittance and infrastructure services and in the primary sectors, notably in livestock, agriculture and fisheries.^[9] In 2007, the United Nations reported that the country's service industry is also thriving.^[3] Economist Peter T. Leeson, in an event study of "the impact of anarchy on Somali development", found the following:

The data suggest that while the state of this development remains low, on nearly all of 18 key indicators that allow pre- and post-stateless welfare comparisons, Somalis are better off under anarchy than they were under government.

—Peter T. Leeson, Better Off Stateless: Somalia Before and After Government Collapse

Powell et al. concur that in absolute terms, Somalia’s living standards have improved and compare favorably with many existing African states, but also report that living standards have often improved "relative to other African countries since the collapse of the Somali central government."^[8]

Islamic courts

Political map of Somalia in December 2006 showing the political structure of the Islamic Courts Union at the height of its power during the Somali Civil War.

For more details on this topic, see Islamic Courts Union, Rise of the Islamic Courts Union (2006), Islamist insurgency in Somalia (2007–present).

Much of the legal system and most of the educational institutions and social services fell under the control of religious institutions, which often received significant funding and support from international charities. In 2005, some of these clerical organizations united to form the Islamic Courts Union, after the secular warlords began to challenge the sharia-based judicial institutions. In June 2006, after the Second Battle of Mogadishu, the ICU gained control of Mogadishu and its surrounding districts. The ICU was later overthrown by the Ethiopian military with the support of the United Nations, African Union, and the United States government. After the ICU forces were chased from Mogadishu, the leaders of the Transitional Federal Parliament entered Somalia declaring themselves the rightful governors of Somalia. As of late February 2007, there was still widespread opposition within Somalia to the ICU, and the ICU's leaders and their allies were still attempting to suppress a strong insurgency.

See also

• Kritarchy, rule by judiciary.

Further reading

• Notten, Michael (2005). The Law of the Somalis. City: The Red Sea Press, Inc. ISBN 9781569022504. 
• Little, Peter (2003). Somalia: Economy Without State. Oxford: International African Institute in association with James Currey. ISBN 0253216486. 

Notes

External links

• Who Needs Government? Pirates, Collapsed States, and the Possibility of Anarchy, August 2007 issue of Cato Unbound focusing on Somali anarchy.

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