The Rupture of Territoriality and the Diminishing Relevance of Cross-cutting Ties in Somalia after 1990

Bibliographic Data

ID3884757
AuthorsMarkus V Hoehne (0000-0003-0979-7186, corresponding author)
Year2016
Volume47
Issue6
Pages1379-1411
Publication date2016-11-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueDevelopment and Change (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0012-155X • E-ISSN: 1467-7660
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/dech.12277
OpenAlexW2551946380
LanguageEN
Citations received23
References cited46

The notion of territoriality has changed in the Somali setting. Once it connoted flexibility and was mainly related to economic survival in a harsh environment; today (2016), after more than two decades of civil war, insecurity and foreign intervention, this notion is more rigid and exclusive. Clearly demarcated territory, inhabited by one group or at least under the control of a dominant group, has become a key political resource in an ongoing process of state formation. This article shows that territorialization in Somalia constitutes a complex mixture of bottom-up and externally driven dynamics. It also shows that new forms of territoriality accompany new forms of sociality in the Somali setting. This is illustrated with regard to the diminishing relevance of cross-cutting ties among Somali descent groups

Development economics · Economics · Flexibility (engineering) · Management · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Relevance (law) · Sociality · Sociology · Somali · State (computer science) · Territoriality · Ecology · Law · Political Conflict and Governance · South Asian Studies and Conflicts · Turkey's Politics and Society