Somalia between the Cycle of Violence and Civil War: Searching for a Stable Government
| Date | 01 October 2017 |
| Author | Ramazan Erdağ |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/pad.1803 |
| Published date | 01 October 2017 |
BOOK REVIEW
SOMALIA BETWEEN THE CYCLE OF VIOLENCE AND CIVIL WAR: SEARCHING FOR A STABLE GOVERNMENT
Shaul Shay. (2014). Somalia in Transition since 2006. Transaction Publishers: New Brunswick and London. 317 pp., Hardback
£ 76.99. ISBN 978-1-4128-5390-3.
Abdullahi Haji-Abdi. (2014). Critical Realism, Somalia and the Diaspora Community. Routledge: London and New York.
136 pp., Hardback £ 110.00; E-book: £ 27.99, ISBN 978-0-415-71212-5.
INTRODUCTION
Somalia has been striving to ensure peace, security, and political stability in the country with the purpose of overcoming the
failed state status it has gained since the beginning of 2000s. The parties involved in this process are as follows: the Islamic
Courts Union (ICU), Al-Shabaab, central and local authorities, neighboring countries (Ethiopia and Kenya),and external
actors. In 2004, the country established a Transitional Federal Government (TFG) that served until 2012. In 2006, it faced
a civil war when invaded by Ethiopian forces. Since then, Somalia has been undergoing interventions, internal transforma-
tions, and security challenges. Moreover, many people have been forced to leave their homeland since civil war, which
brought about a migration issue in a larger frame. People of Somalia began to immigrate to different regions of the world
for different reasons. The United Kingdom (UK) was one of Somali-migrant-receiving countries. Books under review in this
article examine the transformation of Somalia politically, militarily, and socially. Shaul Shay’s book Somalia Transition
since 2006 examines Somalia’s transition roadmap to political stability and security process since 2006, while Abdullahi
Haji-Abdi’s book Critical Realism, Somalia and the Diaspora Community surveys Somalian diaspora community, its activ-
ities, and its effectiveness in the UK.
SOMALIAN TRANSITION PROCESS UNDER THE UN
In Somalia Transition since 2006, Shaul Shay, former deputy head of the National Security Council of Israel, explores the dy-
namics of Somalian political transformation process. Shay’s book analyzes Somalian transformation process in the context of
the UN transition plan, titled “Roadmap for the End of the Transition”since 2006. The author examines the changes in
Somalia that took place under the UN plan as seen in the political, societal, and security-related conditions of the country. After
a brief introduction, Shay outlines Somalian historical background, the role of Islam, Al-Shabaab, Al-Qaeda, and the ICU in
Somalian politics; international interventions, peacekeeping operations, and democratization process in Somalia.
Shay’s book focuses more on the post-2006 developments in Somalian transition. His book does not cover intensive litera-
ture on peacekeeping or use of force in international interventions and conflict resolution in Somalia; instead, it tries to reveal the
possibilities, impossibilities, and roots of the Somalian transition process. Shay lays out the Islamic background in Somalia that
started with Hijrah in 622 (the migration of Prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina) and demonstrates the
strong Islamic belief in Somalian society. He also discloses the strategies of Islamic organizations and charities during transition.
The third chapter of the book divulges information on the ICU: historical background, formation, and the changing structure
after the collapse of Ziad Barre regime in 1991. Following the establishment of Sharia courts in 1993, different kinds of um-
brella organizations over the courts were formed such as the Sharia Implementation Council (SIC), the Supreme Council of
Islamic Courts in Somalia, and the Islamic Courts of Union (ICU), respectively. Leaders of these organizations Sheikh Sharif
Sheikh Ahmed, and Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys called people for jihad (holy war) against the interventions of external forces
in Somalia. The ICU led armed struggle against external military operations in Somalia and implemented a highly tight Sharia
law. Although the rise of the ICU ended with Ethiopian military intervention in Somalia, Shay argues that increasing influence
of the ICU, in particular among the youth, led to radicalization of Somalian society. Nevertheless, one could argue that the main
Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
public administration and development
Public Admin. Dev. 37, 292–294 (2017)
Published online in Wiley Online Library
(wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/pad.1803
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