Becoming Somaliland (African Issues, 24) - Softcover

A welcome and thorough account. (...]The book is invaluable and will inform many a dissertation, essay and article in the future. BULLETIN OF THE SCHOOL OF ORIENTAL AND AFRICAN STUDIES
A detailed source of reference that must be essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand why Somaliland has broken away from Somalia and how to go about the business of building a new state. NORTH-SOUTH
[Fills] an important gap in the literature on Somali studies. FAHAMU/PAMBAZUKA NEWS

When does a country become a state? On 18 May 1991, the leaders of the Somali National Movement and the elders of northern Somali clans proclaimed that they were setting up the new Republic of Somaliland.
Why has Somaliland not followed Somalia into 'state collapse'? Over the past fifteen years the people of Somaliland have peacefully and successfully managed a process of reconciliation, demobilisation, the restoration of law and order, economic recovery and reconstruction.
Why has Somaliland yet to be recognised by the international community? The international system purports to promote 'good governance' in Africa. Somaliland has had one of the most free series of elections in the region. Yet this new republic still has no international legal status, while Somalia, which has had no effective government since 1990, is still accorded de jure sovereignty.
Should a unitary government be re-established for all of Somalia? Since the collapse of the Somali state international diplomacy has supported fourteen peace conferences, each focusing on re-establishing Somalia as a whole. Yet it is Somaliland which challenges the typical image of war, disaster and social regression associated with this part of Africa since the 1990s.

MARK BRADBURY is a development consultant who has worked extensively in North East Africa

Published in association with Progressio; North America: Indiana U Press; South Africa: Jacana; Uganda: Fountain Publishers