Factors Contributing to Peacebuilding, Security, and State-Building in Somaliland

The article “Factors Contributing to Peacebuilding, Security, and State-Building in Somaliland” examines how Somaliland achieved relative peace, security, and built state institutions after the collapse of the central Somali government.

After Somalia’s central government collapsed in 1991, Somaliland restored independence.

The article explores the factors that allowed Somaliland to establish peace, security, and build a functional state, despite lacking international recognition.

Key Factors:

• Grassroots Peacebuilding: Traditional elders played a vital role in bringing clans together for peace conferences and reconciliation, creating a bottom-up approach to conflict resolution.

• Establishment of Government: Peace conferences led to the creation of a government structure with executive, legislative, and judicial branches, based on a constitution.

• Provision of Basic Services: The government provided education, healthcare, and other essential services.

• Democratic Elections: Somaliland held multiple elections with peaceful transfers of power, solidifying its democratic structure.

The article uses Johan Galtung’s “Conflict Triangle” theory (direct, structural, and cultural violence) to analyze peacebuilding, violence, and stability in Somaliland.

The article relies on a review of existing literature on peace and state-building in Somaliland.

In essence, the article argues that Somaliland’s success is due to a combination of traditional reconciliation methods, the establishment of a functional government, and a commitment to democratic processes.

The full paper is as follows:

Factors Contributing to Peacebuilding, Security, and State-Building in Somaliland

By Abdisamad H. Mohamed

PhD Candidate, University for Peace (UPEACE),

Peace, Governance and Development, Costa Rica

Abstract

Peace is the foundation of human existence; without peace, life is nothing. Somaliland has experienced peace and state reconstruction for the last three decades. This follows the destruction of the central government after the collapse of the Somali government in 1991, led by the military dictator General Mohamed Siyad Barre. Somaliland established peace from the grassroots, where traditional elders, chiefs, and politicians gathered in a series of peacebuilding and hope restoration conferences.

This article examines factors that contributed to peacebuilding, security, and state-building in Somaliland. It discusses the institutional legal framework of peace, justice, and institutional building. Somaliland’s peace conferences resulted in the restoration and establishment of a government structure, including the executive, legislative, and judiciary branches, within the framework of the constitution.

Additionally, institutions were established to provide basic services, including education and health. The article highlights the process of Somaliland’s peace reconstruction, including a series of local, national, and presidential elections, which have contributed to Somaliland’s democracy. The introduction provides a detailed background of Somaliland’s journey toward peace and state-building.

Keywords: Peace, Peacebuilding, Traditional Elders, Governance.

Introduction

Somaliland withdrew from the 1960 union with Somalia in 1991, following ten years of armed struggle against the military regime in Mogadishu. As a result, Somaliland became a sovereign state. However, no state has recognized Somaliland yet. Somaliland offers an exceptional story of peace and conflict resolution, the traditional elders are foundation of Somaliland conflict resolution they bring together the clans of Somaliland in peace and reconciliation conference as the politician accepted the proposal of elders into peace reconciliation while there was an internal conflict among the clans of Somalia, and this was remarkable story of Somaliland peace building. In this reflection of peacebuilding, Somaliland is an example of the rest of the Horn of Africa countries exist conflict and unrest of peace. The story represented that Somaliland has become an iconic feature of peace countries in the Horn of Africa.

Unlike its immediate neighbor delayed in conflict and crisis, Somaliland has maintained relative stability and developed unique systems of peacebuilding and stability. This unrecognized state in the Horn of Africa has a functioning democratic system with peaceful transfers of power, which is rare in the African political context.

Following Somaliland’s withdrawal from Somalia, the Burao conference was organized by traditional leaders. This conference established a government for Somaliland, which inherited a war-ravaged country. Tens of thousands of people had been killed, many thousands were harmed or injured, and the main cities, Hargeisa and Burao, were almost destroyed. The territory had been extensively mined. However, with the establishment of peace, hundreds of thousands of internally and externally displaced people began to return home.

The peace process in Somaliland was initiated by traditional elders from various clans. These traditional elders acted as informal institutions responsible for restoring peace and stability. They successfully created a bottom-up peace approach, administering conflict resolution between clans, peacebuilding processes, and peace restorations to bring social justice to the community. This process later led to the establishment of formal institutions based on the constitution, which still survive today.

Since 2001, Somaliland has conducted a series of democratic elections with peaceful transfers of power. Through its grassroots peace process, the government has fulfilled basic social services such as education, water, health, and internal security. These factors have helped Somaliland become a democratic constitutional state. This article examines the factors that contributed to peacebuilding, security, and state-building in Somaliland. To understand the factors contributing to Somaliland’s stability, it is essential to examine the theoretical framework underpinning peacebuilding and state-building.

Theoretical Framework

The theoretical framework of this article uses John Galtung’s model of conflict resolution and his Conflict Triangle to examine the peacebuilding process, violence, and stability in Somaliland. Johan Galtung’s Conflict Triangle theory, presented in his seminal paper “Violence, Peace, and Peace Research,” outlines a framework for understanding peace and conflict through three key elements: direct violence, structural violence, and cultural violence (Galtung, J. 1969).

The theoretical approach of this article linked the relations of peacebuilding factors, peace dimension, and state-building. These three factors are foundation to the breather of article, clan elders are the organizers of peace restoration using with cultural value of the community. The article presented factors contributing to peacebuilding and state building, role of traditional elders, elders’ involvement in peace, conflict resolution approaches in Somaliland, modern governance, and the relationship between peacebuilding and state building.

The methods of the data collection are the secondary data review, it is basis of the review literature of Somaliland Peace and state-building. It has reviewed different sources revisit the literature of Somaliland’s peace trajectory.

Galtung’s theory is based on the principle of peace, and he explains how these three dimensions of violence interact and relate to each other. Galtung’s idea forms the theoretical framework for this article, which discusses factors that measure peace, conflict, and the peacebuilding process. The theoretical foundation of Galton, we can now explore the specific factors that contributed to peacebuilding and state-building in Somaliland.

Factors Contributing to Peacebuilding and State Building

This section details the key factors identified by research participants that contributed to peace and state reconstruction in Somaliland. It highlights the views and experiences of the participants regarding Somaliland’s peacebuilding process. Somaliland clans often conflicted with each other, necessitating a peacebuilding process to establish peace attributes. Most of the respondents agreed that factors contributed to peacebuilding of Somaliland, including the efforts of traditional elders and acceptance of politicians to the proposal of elders in peace-building and an inclusive peace process for all clans of Somaliland (Inclusivity of peace process and no alienations among the clans of Somaliland)

Numerous inter-clan reconciliation conferences were held throughout Somaliland to address hostilities, negotiate political settlements, and achieve a national consensus on political representation. This long and uncertain process aimed at reaching a power-sharing agreement that made peace more profitable than instability (Kaplan, S. 2008).

Somaliland provides an interesting example of how to create lasting peace and stability through bottom-up grassroots community engagement. First, the violence committed during the Somali civil war between civilians and the military. The people of Somaliland were given the opportunity to address their grievances and then created their government based on governance and democratic government with the separation of power (Executive, Legislative, and Judiciary). Somalilanders have been given the opportunity to exercise their democratic rights as enshrined by a genuinely home-grown and locally developed constitution. According to respondents, Somaliland’s grassroots peace progression from inter-clan agreements to stability led to a shared power government based on agreed constitutions and modern governance structures. The major players in Somaliland’s peace process included traditional elders, clan chiefs, political elites, business groups, and religious leaders. As Philips points out, the inclusion of diverse political and economic stakeholders is essential in maintaining the delicate balance of power among competing local actors in Somaliland (Bradbury, M., & Healy, H. 2010) An integral part of Somaliland’s peace process is the role of traditional elders, which will be explored in the next section.

Role of Traditional Elders

The Somali people, originating from nomadic backgrounds, are homogeneous in their language, social norms, and social structure, as argued by historian I.M. Lewis. These attributes have made them models of peacebuilding processes through traditional conflict resolution mechanisms. This section details the role of traditional elders in peacebuilding and their involvement in conflict resolution and the integration of modern governance. The effectiveness of these traditional conflict resolution mechanisms is evident in various conflict resolution strategies employed by the elders.

Elders’ Involvement in Peace

Somali traditional elders are professionals in conflict resolution and negotiations, and, as mediators, they are in positions of peacebuilders and restoration of peace. The research participants agreed on the following points.

• Elders bring peace and solve conflicts among actors on a traditional basis and this conflict resolution brings a sustainable peace solution and prosperity.
• Bradbury and Healy emphasize that traditional elders prioritize conflict resolution without seeking
  profit, working solely for the benefit and welfare of their communities (Aden, M, 2005)

Conflict Resolution

The root causes of conflict often stem from unfulfilled or threatened human needs, including security, identity, dignity, recognition, and justice. A significant source of conflict is the competition over scarce resources necessary for survival. Conflicts may arise when individuals perceive a shortage of resources like food, money, or grazing land. According to basic need theories, resources are limited while human wants are unlimited, leading to resource conflicts. Maslow’s hierarchy of basic needs, a motivational theory in psychology, describes a five-tier model of human needs, with each level detailing different human needs. Additionally, relative deprivation theory suggests that individuals may feel deprived or entitled based on comparisons to others. This theory is based on the notion that people often feel they have less than some comparative standard.

Benyene highlights the varying styles of conflict resolution management, which differ significantly depending on whether the conflict occurs at personal, communal, social, national, or global levels (Benyene, F. 2007). The successful resolution of these conflicts through traditional mechanisms demonstrates the importance of integrating modern governance with traditional practices.

Integration into Hybrid Governance

In the contemporary world, the governance of modern states and the philosophy behind administrative functions are crucial contributors to peacebuilding, security, and state reconstruction. A research participant argued that one of the factors sustaining peace in Somaliland is the merger of customary rules with modern governance structures. Currently, Somaliland has constitutional mandates and legal provisions for institutional management.

Somaliland’s hybrid governance model blending traditional mechanisms with modern state governance that has been crucial in its success in achieving stability and peacebuilding. This model promotes social cohesion and collective security, essential for post-conflict recovery and nation-building. It aligns political and social order with the cultural and historical context of its people boosting state governance’s legitimacy and efficiency. The model’s inclusivity and cultural resonance have reinforced Somaliland’s ability to maintain peace and stability. Incorporating traditional authority and conflict resolution methods, particularly through the roles of clan elders and community leaders, has established a solid framework for grievance redressal, dispute mediation and conflict prevention. Somaliland’s government gains legitimacy through its hybrid governance model, deeply rooted in the local culture and traditions. This model integrates traditional governance structures central to societal organization and conflict resolution into the state’s formal governance framework, honoring and preserving local customs. Such an approach shows deep respect for community norms and values, enhancing public recognition and inclusion. This inclusive method gathers public support crucial for sustaining peace and governance in Somaliland. By embedding traditional governance mechanisms initiatives vibrate with the local context fostering a sense of community ownership and collective responsibility towards peace and governance success. This approach reduces doubt and resistance to external interventions by aligning more closely with local realities and sensitivities (Biruk, S. D., & Getachew, K. N. (2024). The relationship between peacebuilding and state-building is further explored in the following section

Relationship between Peacebuilding and State-Building

State-building is commonly understood to be a pillar of peacebuilding activities focused on resolving conflicts worldwide. Since the end of the Cold War, the expansion of international peacebuilding activities has promoted the role of the United Nations, regional organizations, and other international entities in rebuilding state functions. The widely shared analysis indicates that the root causes of conflicts often involve the fragility of governance, necessitating state-building activities led by international actors. The principles guiding state building, such as the rule of law, are key in contemporary peacebuilding activities in Somaliland. The peacebuilding process has involved state building and the restoration of hope to society, which had been deprived by war and destruction from the former dictatorship government of Somalia, which collapsed in 1991. Since then, Somaliland has become an independent country, though it remains unrecognized by the world. A critic of liberal peacebuilding theory, Oliver Richmond, shares the view that peacebuilding practices by international organizations and donor states are based upon the value system of liberal democracy. Furthermore, he criticizes such an attitude towards peacebuilding by saying that local stakeholders are forced to become dependent upon foreign interventions (Shinoda, H. (2003).

As Richmond expresses, Somaliland peacebuilding was different from this perception as there was no foreign intervention from the international organization. It was a local approach involving the local stakeholders, led by the traditional elders of the clans. This factor resulted in successful peacebuilding in Somaliland.

Roberts criticizes liberal peacebuilding for its reliance on external actors, which he argues undermines traditional local conflict resolution mechanisms and strengthens exploitative resource distribution systems (Roberts, D. 2011)

In the above expression of David Roberts, Somaliland was different. The traditional elders, politicians and businessman led the process of peacebuilding based on the local context and there were not external intervention or external aid influenced the process of peacebuilding, and this become local made approach of peacebuilding from the grassroot of the society, unlike the donor or external actors who may have a hidden agenda motives intended their aims and interest.

State-building is generally held to support peacebuilding as well. Successful state-building supports the consolidation of peace in several ways. It enhances mechanisms for security and conflict resolution at the national level that should carry legitimacy in the eyes of the public and the outside world. Such mechanisms of justice systems, policing systems, or service delivery agencies provide a credible arena and framework for social groups to express their preferences and resolve their conflicts non-violently. If states work mainly to provide public goods rather than line private pockets, they reduce the incentives for populations and political elites to use violence.

From the perspective of sustainable economies, functioning and legitimate states also provide the infrastructure for sustainable development with a diminishing role for external actors. All these factors point out to a complementary relationship between peacebuilding and state-building, one which exists in many circumstances and should be nourished.

Those who are responsible for governance in each state are the key stakeholders in the context of the international order. Once they become corrupt or exploit their positions through state mechanisms, the fragility of such a state is inevitable, and international order is at stake(beat). Analysts such as Paul Collier and Frances Stewart have discussed the social and economic aspects of the causal factors behind conflicts, which create opportunities or greater inequalities for the greedy to exploit among the poor (Call, Ch. & E. Cousens (2007)

But in the end, such structural changes can only happen when political initiatives are introduced with competent government functions; they all require state-building types of peacebuilding, even partially provided by international actors.

State building is conducted in the form of international assistance by major donor countries or international organizations in recipient fragile states. It responds to national peacebuilding agendas, as well as the maintenance of international order at the same time. It is somewhat paradoxical that, for the sake of independence, some independent states ask for external intervention for the purpose of state-building/peacebuilding. This represents a dilemma between the maintenance of universal order in international society based upon the independence of each sovereign state and the reality of fragility among a great number of developing countries, which eventually require external assistance. Peacebuilding through state building comprises activities that are intended to solve the problems arising out of such a dilemma faced by world international society.

In above analysis for the assessment of dependent of external assistance of peacebuilding and state building most of the research participant agreed, Somaliland has never gained any support from international community regarding its peacebuilding processes but it was local context made peace that from the grassroot of the society which was led by the traditional elders, businessman and politician, and this was one of the reasons of Somaliland peace become strong and sustain in contrast to its immediate neighbor, Somalia. The conclusion will summarize the main arguments and findings of this article.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the in-depth analysis of factors contributed to peacebuilding, security, and statebuilding in Somaliland are discussed in the article. The article presented the main argument contributed to peacebuilding and statebuilding in Somaliland.

The argument that has been discussed in the article is the role of traditional elders to peacebuilding in Somaliland and the relationship between peacebuilding and state-building. The article discloses factors contributed to peacebuilding the existence of law and order, preserving of government functions as the executive in-place of police, security forces, regional and local courts. One of the arguments of the article presented is the factors associated with peacebuilding, including the structure of government based on the constitution of the executive, legislative, and judiciary. Other related issues article mentioned are the role of clan chiefs, political elites, business groups, and religious leaders in peace

It has been detailed the issue of Somaliland’s internal peace process, it is obvious that Somaliland’s peacebuilding is a locally made approach from the community. These initiatives were led by traditional elders. These initiatives created the establishment of the government. Somaliland is a constitutional country which has no external legitimacy from the world, but locally has the requirement of internal legitimacy.

Another important dimension was presented is the process of solving conflicts in Somaliland and the factors contributed to conflicts. The article discussed the relationship between peacebuilding, state building, and associated factors of peace and security, as detailed the process of peacebuilding in Somaliland which is from the bottom-up approach and has not interventions from the external actors or donors.

This process becomes successful. It is detailed general support for state-building. Successful state-building supports the consolidation of peace in several ways. Enhances peace and security, solving conflict in the society, promotes legitimacy and the rule of law and justice.

Finally, the article analyzed the Somaliland peacebuilding process, which is from the grassroots ofthe  community engagement peace process. There was no external intervention from the world, which was involved in the process; the track became successful in Somaliland than in other countries in the region as Somalia. Somaliland was not fully dependent on international Interventions of peacebuilding.

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