CHAPTER ONE
1.1 Background to the Study
Somaliland is an autonomous region located in the Horn of Africa (HoA) region. Most countries in the world regard it as being part of Somalia. The contested boundaries of Somaliland are bordered by Ethiopia in the south and west, Djibouti in the northwest, the Gulf of Aden in the north, and, internally, by Puntland in the east.
Historically it has been referred to as the British Somaliland, which was a British protectorate in the northern part of present-day Somalia. The protectorate incorporated much of what now constitutes the Puntland (Maakhir) and Somaliland macro-regions of Somalia. For much of its existence, British Somaliland was bordered by French Somaliland, the Ogaden, and Italian Somaliland. From 1940 to 1941, it was occupied by the Italians and was part of Italian East Africa.[2] In August 1940, during the East African Campaign in World War II, the British protectorate was briefly occupied by Italy. In March 1941, British Somaliland was recaptured by British and Commonwealth forces. The final remnants of the Italian guerrilla movement discontinued all resistance in British Somaliland by the summer of 1942.
The protectorate gained independence on 26 June 1960. As a referendum indicated support for unification with the Italian-administered Trust Territory of Somalia (formerly Italian Somaliland), days later on 1 July 1960, the northern State of Somaliland joined with the southern trust territory to form the Somali Republic.[3]
In 1991, after the breakdown of the central government of the Somali Republic, parts of the area which formerly encompassed British Somaliland declared independence. In May 1991, the formation of the “Republic of Somaliland” was proclaimed, with the local government regarding it as the successor to former British Somaliland. However, the Somaliland region’s self-declared independence remains unrecognized by any country or international organization.[4]
1.2 Statement of the Research Problem
The aforementioned background establishes that Somaliland has a somewhat defined territory with a distinct population. The territory also has a system of governance that brings forth leadership through periodic elections. Somaliland also interacts in various ways with other entities and actors that are external to its territory. Basically, it would seem that Somaliland is a state. However, this is not the case since other states and international organizations have not formally recognized it as a state.
For a territory to be given state recognition in the IS, there are certain standards that are used by international actors and these standards are a reference point when it comes to the question of whether or not a territory is a state. The fulfilments of these standards by a territory would highly likely lead to state recognition by international actors most notably states.
Intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) are influential bodies that play a big role on the question of the recognition of states. Such bodies are primarily composed of sovereign states and are established by treaty. When a territory seeks to be recognized as a state, IGOs normally make known their stand on the matter and such is important to the territory seeking state recognition. When an IGO expressly recognizes a territory as being sovereign; then that territory is considered to be a state as far as that IGO is concerned.
The recognition of a territory as a state often happens after a struggle that is laden with many challenges. Such challenges have to be surmounted by the territory as it puts to the IS, its case for state recognition. The more successful a territory is in surmounting these challenges the more likely it will be recognized as a state in the IS. It follows that since Somaliland has sought to be recognized as a state for long there are a myriad of challenges that it continues to face.
Territories interact with each other and it is through such interactions that relations are established. Through such relations, legitimacy is derived for those territories that seek to be recognized as states by other states and international organizations. For example, if Kenya was to allow Somaliland to open an embassy in Nairobi then it would mean Kenya recognizes her as a state. There are also other modes of interactions that can contribute to legitimizing a territory as a state. As it seeks recognition, the more a territory engages in interactions with other actors in the IS, especially states, the more likely it is to be recognized as a state.
Against this background, this study will seek to contribute to the understanding of the diplomatic intrigues behind the recognition of new states. The main question is: why does Somaliland still remain unrecognized in the IS?
1.4 Objectives of the study
The study aims to analyze the diplomacy of state recognition with the specific objectives being to:
- Examine the criteria that are used for recognition of states in the international system.
- Analyze the role of intergovernmental organizations in the non-recognition of Somaliland.
- Assess the nature of interactions between Somaliland and other actors in the international system.
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