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High-Quality Research Support (HQRS) Programme

Federalism for Somalia: The Best Hope for

Rebuilding the Nation

Mohamed Iman Abdulle

August 2017

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Contents Abstract ..................................................................................................................................................... - 5 -

1.0. Research Context: ......................................................................................................................... - 6 -

1.1. Statement of the Problem: ....................................................................................................... - 7 -

1.2. Objective of the Study: ............................................................................................................. - 7 -

1.3. Research Question: ................................................................................................................... - 7 -

1.4. Research Significance: ............................................................................................................... - 8 -

2.0. Related Literature Review:............................................................................................................ - 9 -

2.1. The Concept of Federalism ....................................................................................................... - 9 -

2.2. Political Systems in Somalia from 1960-1991 ......................................................................... - 10 -

2.3. Post-Civil War Somalia ............................................................................................................ - 10 -

2.4. The Relevance of Federalism .................................................................................................. - 11 -

2.5. Drivers of Federalism .............................................................................................................. - 12 -

2.5.1. Domestic Drivers ............................................................................................................. - 12 -

2.5.2. External Drivers ............................................................................................................... - 13 -

3.0. Research Methodology: .............................................................................................................. - 14 -

3.1. Limitations of the Research: ................................................................................................... - 14 -

3.2. Ethical Considerations:............................................................................................................ - 15 -

4.0. Interpretation and Analysis of Key Findings ............................................................................... - 16 -

4.1. Public Perceptions Towards Federalism ................................................................................. - 16 -

4.2. Merits and Demerits of Federalism ......................................................................................... - 18 -

4.3. Challenges Facing Federalism .................................................................................................... - 19 -

4.4. Form of Federalism ................................................................................................................. - 21 -

4.5. Federal and State Government Relations ................................................................................ - 22 -

4.5.1. Power, Authority and Resources Sharing ....................................................................... - 22 -

5.0. Conclusion and Recommendations: ........................................................................................... - 24 -

5.1. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... - 24 -

5.2. Recommendations .................................................................................................................. - 24 -

Appendix: Data Collections Tools ........................................................................................................... - 26 -

References .............................................................................................................................................. - 27 -

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Abstract The study looks at federalism in Somalia; a country that is situated in the horn of Africa

devastated by wars that lasted for more than a quarter century and its people disintegrated and

ravaged by ongoing conflicts in the country. Federalism as a system has been a core problem that

has raised debates and arguments among Somali society since there is lack of clear

understanding and consensus of the concept of federalism in Somalia and how it will apply in the

country among the Somalis. The state building process has been a hard process to be achieved

due to mistrust among the local people that led to the absence of a common understanding and

consensus on the division and sharing of powers between the central government and the

regional authorities. This has halted a speedy recovery, reestablishment and rebuilding of

Somalia as a nation.

The study employed qualitative methods for data collection due to the nature of the topic using

both primary and secondary sources to collect data. Primary data was gathered from the

respondents through the use of focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informants interview

(KIIs) to extract information from the respondents. The study target population groups were

selected from the respective regional administrations as the two major cities of Mogadishu and

Garowe represent a sample for the other regional states. One focus group discussion and three

key informant interviews will be conducted in each city.

The study found that federalism has positive associations for some people while some have

negative understandings about it making the issue contested. Some people see federalism as a

system that is being pushed by foreign actors while the opposite group see the system to be a

solution for rebuilding the nation. Federalism is nonetheless one of the most important

constitutional concepts and designs which enable legitimacy of political power to integrate and

enhance the fragmentation of the society. It is a conflict resolution mechanism that resolves

disputes of conflicting parties and brings back trust and harmony. The study finds that some of

the population see federalism as disunifying, destructive and a root cause of more conflicts and

instability and they therefore believe that it is not best suited to Somalia. However, most views

agree that federalism is not well suited for such a homogenous society. The study found that

most of the respondents agree that federalism is a temporary solution for Somalia as the country

will need to reshape itself and its future for the best system that suits. The study recommends the

enactment of a well-defined constitution and identifies the need for civic education and

awareness about federalism.

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1.0. Research Context: Somalia is a country that is situated in the Horn of Africa. It is a country that is bordered by the

Indian Ocean from the east and the Gulf of Aden to the north, Kenya to the southwest, Ethiopia

to the west, and the republic of Djibouti to the northwest. It is a country that is strategically

located in a very important global trade and shipping route which makes the country a very

significant place in the world. The ethnic Somali people inhabited the Horn of Africa region for

many centuries practicing pastoralism in the north and small scale agricultural practices mainly

in the southern regions. The Somali peninsula has been stateless in the pre-colonial era though

there have been some chiefdoms based on clans in the area applying local customary laws.

Modern day Somalia’s political borders were drawn by European colonial powers that

partitioned ethnic Somalis into enclaves that make up the modern day Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti

and Somalia. Somalia was colonized by the British in the north and Italy in the south. On 1st July

1960, British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland united forming the modern day Somalia.

Political and ethnic tensions emerged and soared in the new republic which widened the division

in and among the Somali people. Somalia has been under civilian rule since 1969 and has the

oldest democratic experience in post-colonial Africa. In 21st October 1969, the military seized

power, adopted a socialist ideology and ruled the country since the civil war in 1991.

The root causes of the Somali crisis are fourfold: The social setup of the Somalis, the colonial

legacy, the Cold war legacy, and SiyadBarre’s dictatorship. First, the Somali social setup is

majorly nomadic culture based on clans and clanism which is a major cause of the collapse.

Secondly, the colonial legacy has left Somalia in border crisis such as the 1977 war between

Somalia and Ethiopia, and Somalia-Kenya border tensions, Somalia-Djibouti tension and the

current British Somaliland secessionist crisis. Thirdly, the cold war legacy has also contributed

to the crisis in the Somali peninsula leading to 1977 Somalia-Ethiopia war, the arms supply and

proxy wars in the Horn of Africa. Fourthly, SiyadBarre’s 21 years dictatorship has worsened the

political tensions and division in and among the Somali people. During Barre’s tenure, there was

suppression of the citizens, mass killings, prosecutions and atrocities thus widening the division

that led the creation of rebellion groups and resulting to a bloody civil war that toppled Barre in

early 1991.

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Since the toppling of the government in 1991 and the civil war that followed, the country has

been devastated by anarchy that paralyzed all government institutions and services. The civil war

has resulted in displacement of the people both internally and externally. The Somalis have been

making efforts to reestablish Somalia and a series of reconciliation conferences was held inside

and outside Somalia to restore hope. In 2004, the TFG was formed in Nairobi-Kenya which

initiated the first Somali federal government ever. In 2012, the TFG adopted a provisional

federal constitution which changed the Federal government of Somalia (FGS). Somalia is just

finding its feet now as a government. Since independence, Somalia has had a centralized system

of government and due to lessons learned the country is now seeing the necessity of finding a

sort of decentralized or federal system.

1.1. Statement of the Problem:

Federalism as system has been a core problem that has raised debates and arguments among the

Somali society. There is a lack of clear understanding and consensus about the concept of

federalism in Somalia and how it will apply in the country among the Somalis. The state building

process has been hard to be achieved due to mistrust among the Somali people. The failure of the

1960 unitary government and the 1991 civil war has put the country into protracted socio-

political conflicts which lasted over a quarter century. The absence of a common understanding

and consensus on the division and sharing of powers between the central government and the

regional authorities has halted a speedy recovery, and the reestablishment and rebuilding of

Somalia as a nation.

Therefore, this study will analyze the complex issue of federalism and its role in rebuilding and

reestablishing Somalia as a nation. The study will examine the role of a federal system for

Somalia in rebuilding the nation.

1.2. Objective of the Study: The main objective of the study was to examine the role of a federal system for Somalia in

rebuilding the nation.

1.3. Research Question: What is the role of federalism as a political system for Somalia in rebuilding the nation?

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1.4. Research Significance: The research provides information for policy makers, leaders, civil servants, civil society groups,

researchers, decision makers and the wider community which will help them understand the

concept of federalism and more specifically its applicability to the Somali context.

The research adds knowledge to the existing literature and will fill the gap of a lack of enough

knowledge of the federalism concept in Somalia giving deeper understanding to the society.

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2.0. Related Literature Review:

2.1. The Concept of Federalism

Federalism originally comes from the Latin word foedus, which means formal agreement. “The

definition of federalism is more contested and ambiguous. Some scholars of federalism define

the term federalism in cultural and ideological terms while others incorporate to democracy and

political stability” (Ziblatt, 1972, p. 5). Ziblatt defines federalism as the “relationship between a

central government and its regional governments in strictly dichotomous terms” (Ziblatt, 1972, p.

5).

Federalism as a concept has positive connotations for some and negative connotations for others

depending on the context of the system. Federalism can be defined as a “combination of self-rule

and shared rules” (Elazar, 1987, p. 5) while the classical narrow view of Kenneth Wheare (1963)

is that federalism is “a method of dividing powers so that the general and regional governments

are within a sphere of coordination and autonomy”.

According to Riker (Riker, 1975, p. 101), “Federalism is a political organization of government

with set of activities that are divided for regional governments and a central government and

each level of government has some activities on which it makes final decisions”. King (King,

1982, p. 76) defines federalism as “a constitutional system that gives a division of authority

between central and regional governments with good representation in the decision-making

processes of the central government”. In this regard, however the concept of federalism seems to

be ambiguous and federalism scholars find it impossible to agree on one common definition

which varies from one country to another.

Generally, federalism is a common word for countries that have adopted a federal political

system but going down to the roots of the different federal systems, it is specified by the

constitution of various nations. Comparatively, federalism is different in various countries and

states and the type of federalism adopted by every country is stated in their constitutions and the

form which they are going to use is dictated by the socio-economic, political and historical

legacies of the country.

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2.2. Political Systems in Somalia from 1960-1991

“In 1960, the former British and Italian territories merged by mutual agreement

within days of independence to form the Somali Democratic Republic. Nationalists

of both north and south united behind the leadership of the Somali Youth League.

Most Somalis, however, saw this instance of unification as the only beginning”

(Thomson, 2016, p. 173).

“The country has embarked upon a parliamentary civilian political system as the

country has experienced the first African democracy and four general elections were

held based on a clan multi-party system in the first decade” (Ylonen, Zahorik, 2017,

p. 149).

The civilian governments worked well somehow, though they were marred by corruption,

nepotism, misrule and tribalism which has resulted in a lack of progress in the country.

“Increased politicization of clan issues and stiff clan competitions in the politics became a result

of a failed political system and gave rise to popular discontent and need for change. In that

regard, the political parties who were running for election have reached 64 clan based parties”

(Kelly, 1999, p. 8). Disappointment over the civilian government’s performance led to the

assassination of president Sharmake and president Barre took over power in a bloodless coup

d’état on 21st October 1969. The country’s fall into military hands led to one party system and a

lifetime president.

Barre’s rule was marred by oppression and tyranny although in his tenure the country made

progressive social programs and made tremendous change. However the speedy progress

declined in the late 1970s. Due to the cruel acts of the tyrannical regime, the country’s unity has

been disintegrating, political conditions deteriorated and clan loyalties came to the fore. Rebel

groups emerged very soon and the country was mired in political waves and instability that led to

the fall of Barre’s 21 year regime.

2.3. Post-Civil War Somalia “As the major clans unified their opposition against Barre’s regime but had no common political

vision for the future of Somalia” (Abukar, 2015, p. 25). “The opposition groups promising

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justice, equality and democracy took over almost all the parts of the country though their hopes

turned into nightmares and armed conflicts resulted in the destruction of lives, properties and

human displacement on its highest magnitude unheard in the Somali history. The SNM

proclaimed independence of the Northern regions of Somalia” (Ylonen, Zahorik, 2017, p. 150).

The country went into turmoil and terrible clan disintegration.

According to Abukar, a “[p]rolonged period of violence, lawlessness, power struggles, clan

clashes and breakdown of institutions followed the removal of Barre’s regime” (Abukar, 2015, p.

25). International efforts of mediation and to ameliorate the humanitarian crisis were undertaken

by regional and international partners as the crisis widened and deepened. The country hosted the

UN and US led the interventions UNISOM 1 and 2, and UNITAF which did not bear good fruits.

Due to continued failed reconciliation conferences, there emerged faction leaders and warlords

paralyzing the TNG. “In the light of Somalia collapse, the absence of law and order forced many

Somali clans in the capital to form Sharia courts which gave birth to ICU and went to war against

the TFG” (Ylonen, Zahorik, 2017, p. 151). As result of that war was the rise of Al-Shabab. Now,

Somalia has a federal government and other state government administrations as the country

strives to defeat all forms of violence through decentralization.

2.4. The Relevance of Federalism “The collapse of the nation-state project in many African countries in the 1980s and 1990s has

been a recurring theme in many African countries and the enthusiasm to build new nations

initially ignited in the wake of the anti-colonial movement” (Gana, Egwu, 2003, p. XV). In

recent years, “federalism has been increasingly viewed as an institutional solution to a broad

range of problems” (Ziblatt, 1972, p. 3) and therefore, “federalism is nevertheless one of the

most important constitutional concepts and designs which enable legitimacy of political power to

integrate and enhance the fragmentation of the society” (Fleiner, 2006, p. 1).

Federalism solves political conundrums and helps disperse and separate power however it does

not mean it is better than a confederal or a unitary system. Federalism has many advantages over

centralism. Federalism allows flexibility and reduces conflicts while accommodating the

interests of the citizens and diversities making the achievement of national policies and goals

easier. On the other hand, federalism comes with diverse dilemmas that also make it a hard

system. Federalism increases complexity and confusion whilst increasing conflict when

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jurisdictional lines are not clear in between the state and central government. Federalism as a

system reduces accountability while reducing coordination in both state and central government

(Smith, Greenblatt, 2014, p. 32).

It is justifiable to contend that federalism is a viable political system that can create a sound unity

and autonomy. In the US, independence wars and the American civil war created the concerns of

creating a government which is strong enough to provide stability. They were also equally afraid

of autocracy and mob rule in the country which led to the demand for a federal government and

separation of powers (Vile, 2007, p. 3). The United States is not the only nation that embraced

federalism but in fact, in the recent years, several nations have relied upon federalism as the

middle ground for distributing political power (Gerston, 2015, p. 5). Malaysia has also adopted a

constitutional monarchy with a prime mister that runs government affairs who is elected

democratically and a king selected amongst the nine state rulers on rotation basis selected every

five years by the conference of the rulers (Albar, 2014, p. 1), whilst Ethiopia has adopted ethnic

federalism as an instrument of managing complex ethno-linguistic diversity of the country and

thus reducing conflicts. The federal restructuring of Ethiopia is related to failed nation-building

due to tyranny and misrule from previous centralized governments (Kefale, 2013, pp. 1-8).

According to IRIN news, the major challenges of federalism in Somalia’s context are the lack of

civic education, distribution of resources between state and national governments, and the status

of Mogadishu as the capital (IRINNews, 2014, p. 1). The adoption of a federal system must

necessarily have both autonomy and collaboration among the various groups that make up the

state. There is need for consensus concerning which form of federation to adopt and its

framework, inter-state relations, power and resources sharing and diversity issues. In the Somali

context, all these elements are still widespread and the debate about federalism is still present in

the country’s politics.

2.5. Drivers of Federalism

2.5.1. Domestic Drivers

According to Elmi, the first and the “most important domestic driver to decentralization is the

prevailing mistrust in the Somali political elites” (Elmi, 2014, p. 1). However this mistrust is not

only bound to the political elites but also there is wide mistrust in and among the Somali people

at large. This mistrust was created by pre-colonial clan conflicts, colonial legacies and post-

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independence clan grievances, conflicts and atrocities perpetrated by both government and non-

government actors. The 1988 atrocities against the Somali civilians in Hargeisa by the military

regime and the 1991 clan cleansing committed by Aideed in Mogadishu and some other parts of

Somalia reinforced the mistrust.

Secondly, “the previous centralized system in Somalia was the second domestic driver of

decentralization. Somalis have been forced to travel to Mogadishu to acquire a passport and

other vital services. The citizens outside the capital lacked essential government services and

many communities outside Mogadishu were marginalized”. The centralized system has also

resulted in a lack of political participation and belongingness from people outside the capital.

“The periphery regions lacked development programs while consistently prioritizing the

development of Mogadishu and equitable sharing and distribution of resources was highly

needed as profound demand for greater local autonomy and efforts to maintain centralized

government was there” (Elmi, 2014, p. 1).

2.5.2. External Drivers

There are external drivers of decentralization, mainly that it was pushed by the neighboring

countries and the international and donor community. First, the “neighboring countries

particularly Kenya and Ethiopia have never avoided intervention and engagement in Somalia’s

national and sub-national politics”. Both countries have the fear of the threat of a greater Somalia

thus fueling instability in the country. Secondly, the international donor community has

demonstrated their preference for a decentralized system of governance in Somalia. “The donor

community has been working with non-central state actors legitimizing the authority of the sub-

national actors at the expense of the FGS” (Elmi, 2014, p. 2).

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3.0. Research Methodology: This study employed qualitative methods for data collection due to the nature of the topic. The

research study will use both primary and secondary sources to collect data. Primary data will be

gathered directly from the respondents. This was the first-hand and original information gathered

with the use of focus group discussions (FGDs) and key informants interview (KIIs) to extract

information from the respondents. Secondary sources of data were used which involved sourcing

data from already processed information and data, accessed by reviewing relevant text books,

journals, newspapers, magazines, online published articles, government publications and any

other previous records about the search topic.

Somalia is currently made up of six regional administrations and the capital. The study target

population groups were selected from the respective regional administrations and the two major

cities of Mogadishu and Garowe are going to represent the other regional states. One focus group

discussion and three key informant interviews will be conducted in each city. The FGD is going

to deduce information from university students whilst the KIIs will target the political elites and

policy makers.

Table1: FGDs and KIIs Plan

Garowe Mogadishu

FGDs KIIs FGDs KIIs

1. University

students

1. One KI Ministry

of Interior, Local

government.

1. University

students

1. Ministry of

Interior and

federal affairs.

2. One individual

from the Ministry

of constitution,

democracy and

federal affairs

2. One individual

from the Ministry

of constitution.

3. Traditional elder 3. Traditional elder

3.1. Limitations of the Research: Financially, the research study has been constrained by the costs of flights needed to conduct the

research and other items needed such as stationary costs and other costs to finance all other

activities for the study.

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The time available for the research study was limited so completing it was a challenge. Also, due

to the broadness and complexity of the topic, the study was be time consuming and bulky.

3.2. Ethical Considerations: The major ethical problem faced in this study was the privacy of the subjects and confidentiality

of their information. To ensure privacy, the subjects were informed upfront that indeed their

names were not required, that they had the right to leave questions unanswered for which they

did not wish to offer the requisite information, and that the researcher would not put the

respondent under pressure if that happened. To ensure confidentiality, the subjects were

informed that the information they were to give was to be solely used for academic purposes and

data obtained on private matters would be treated in confidence.

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4.0. Interpretation and Analysis of Key Findings This chapter interprets and analyses the data collected from the field and the answers given out

by the respondents during the data collection process using verbatim analysis. Mogadishu and

Garowe represented the other regional states and serves as the sample. One focus group

discussion and three key informant interviews were conducted in each city.

4.1. Public Perceptions Towards Federalism

Federalism is defined as a combination of self-rule and shared rules. Federalism was adopted as

the system of governance for Somalia due to the prolonged period of violence, lawlessness,

power struggles, clan clashes and breakdown of institutions which became foundation of mistrust

and suspicion among the Somali people which led to loss of confidence in a unitary or

centralised government. Federalism has positive associations for some people while some have

negative associations about it making the issue contested. Some people see federalism as a

system that is being pushed by foreign actors while the opposite group see the system to be a

solution for rebuilding the nation.

A participant expressed his view about federalism as the respondent describes the federal system

as an imported solution but not a durable solution of government. The respondent says;

Federalism is a system best fitting in a country with different religions, cultures, races

and languages. It is a system which is a solution for Somalia for now but not a solution in

the future and it serves as a system which is meant to avoid further going of civil war

(FGD PSU Garowe 2017).

Federalism is a process of decentralizing government services and it is a system that will enable

Somalia to stand on its own feet. The Somali civil war was based on power sharing in

government and the need for decentralized system as federalism was adopted due to that reason.

A respondent in the FGD from SIMAD University said;

Power struggles have caused the Somali civil war which widened the mistrust and in that

regard, the Somali populous have two opposing opinions towards federalism; first ones

believe that federalism is a solution to bring back together the disintegrated society while

the other side say that federalism is dividing the Somali unity but the fact is that

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federalism is the only solution to bring these people back together. Federalism is not a

bad system and as we know there is no system that is bad, people should make their

systems efficient and well. (SIMAD University-Mogadishu 2017).

Federalism is nonetheless one of the most important constitutional concepts and designs which

enable the legitimacy of political power to integrate and enhance the fragmentation of society. It

harmonizes the divided parties and strengthens the pillars of a nation, unites diversity and solves

disputes of societies who experienced protracted social conflicts. However, some people view it

differently:

A respondent in a FGD held in PSU Garowe also said;

Federalism is system that is brought to Somalia in order to divide the people. It’s a

conspiracy made by the countries who don’t want Somalia to have a stable government.

Federalism to my perception is therefore a system that is meant to weaken the Somali

nation (PSU Garowe 2017).

A key informant from the ministry of interior of the federal government argued that federalism is

a good system that can bring peace to Somalia but some people oppose it due to lack of

knowledge about federalism. Another key informant from the Ministry of Constitutional Affairs

describes federalism as a conflict resolution mechanism that resolves the disputes of conflicting

parties and brings back trust and harmony among them.

A key informant interview held in Garowe with a traditional elder reiterates that federalism is the

only route through which Somalia can get a government and find its feet due to the collapse of

the Somali government followed by the bloody civil war and resulting mistrust. Federalism

should be used as a system up until the confidence is restored and truthful reconciliation is made.

Another key informant traditional elder from Mogadishu said;

Federalism for Somalia acts as a tool to stop wars and bring back trust in the divided

Somali societies. It’s a good solution for the country as per now for rebuilding the nation

but Somalia will have to decide which system is suitable for them in the future.

Federalism is not the last solution as federalism is a system which is for people with

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varied socio-political differences but in the Somali context, our commonalities are more

than our differences (Traditional elder Mogadishu 2017)

4.2. Merits and Demerits of Federalism

Every system of governance has both advantages and disadvantages. Federalism as a system

therefore has vast populations that see it a perfect system that suits Somalia while others see its

disadvantages judging the system to be bad with negative effects on the nation. A key informant

from the Ministry of Constitutional Affairs of the federal government says that federalism has a

major advantage which is equal distribution of national development projects. Mogadishu was

the only city in the country and other parts of the country were lagging behind but now Garowe,

Hargeisa, Jowhar and Baidoa are developing into cities. The government services are also

available these days in all parts of the country and that is because of federalism.

In a focus group discussion held in SIMAD University Mogadishu, one participant said;

Federalism will enhance the country’s development and every district or village will have

to get the government services such as health, education and other social services.

Federalism doesn’t mean secession but it is direct checks and balances of power of the

central government. It gives flexibility in decision making and enhances innovation in the

grass roots. Federalism also allows local autonomy which is giving good chance to

citizen’s participation and inclusivity (FGD SIMAD University Mogadishu 2017).

Another key informant believes that federalism has two major advantages which makes it the

most suitable system for Somalia. The interviewee said;

Peace and stability is the most important advantage of federalism for Somalia in the

recent years as it has created regional states that are save from civil wars and other

humanitarian crisis which became a safe haven for the internally displaced people. The

other advantage of federalism for Somalia is that it has restored the trust and now clans

are integrating and doing businesses together. So what I see from federalism is a Somalia

that is coming back and the hope of a nation is restored (Ministry of Interior FGS 2017)

Regional states are directly seen as ethnic entities and take the names of a particular clan as it

seems to be ethnicity not federalism. There is no hierarchy of the powers and authorities of the

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central and state governments which are not clear in the provisional constitution. If federalism

has weakened the nation state, it is a big curse for Somalia – which is what many believe.

Somalia was once a powerful African nation with strong military and modern ammunition and

now African countries are sending troops as peacekeepers. In a key informant interview from

with a respondent from the Ministry of Interior of the federal government it was said that;

The only disadvantage of federalism is the long process of decision making. The national

decision making process will take long thus hindering quick and speedy effect as

decisions have to be agreed in every level of government i.e. from central government to

regional governments. When it comes to defence, instead of defending the national

borders, the state governments are busy fighting each other for borders (Ministry of

Interior Puntland 2017).

In a focus group discussion held in PSU Garowe, a participant said;

Federalism is a disunity, destruction and a root cause for more conflicts and instability

and it is not best suiting for Somalia since the Somali people are from one family, one

religion, one culture, one people and one nation. Ethnicity based federalism which seems

to be emerging which is not the solution we have been looking for as this wideness the

political differences in the country (PSU Garowe 2017).

A discussant in the SIMAD University FGD said that disadvantages of federalism are many

including power disputes, border disputes, time consumed by the long process of decision

making, the national army are not unified, national policies involve long decision making

processes and there will be no uniform national policies as citizens are losing the element of

nationalism.

4.3. Challenges Facing Federalism

Ignorance about federalism and its meaning is one of the major challenges. The illiteracy rate of

Somalia is very high as many people don’t read while others lack enough civic education and

political awareness which makes many Somali people have negative views about federalism. In

that regard, there are other challenges that face federalism which have become an obstacle to the

federalization process.

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In a focus group discussion held in SIMAD University, one respondent said;

We all know that government comes from the people through a social contract based on a

constitution which I see it doesn’t exist in Somalia. Therefore, the biggest barrier of

adopting a federal system is the constitutional challenge on ground. The second biggest

challenge is the lack of referendum towards federalism. People were not asked of what

system of governance they prefer and due to that, federalism is not yet active since there

is no consensus about it (SIMAD University 2017).

According to the Irin news website, the major challenges of federalism in the Somalia’s context

are the lack of civic education, distribution of resources between state and national governments,

and the status of Mogadishu as the capital.

A key informant from the Ministry of Constitutional Affairs says;

The major challenges that face federalism are; lack of knowledge towards federalism,

ethnic federalism, regional states border disputes, poor central and state governments

relations (FGS Ministry of Constitutional Affairs 2017).

Another key informant during an interview in the Ministry of Constitutional Affairs of Puntland

said;

The challenge of federalism is that the larger Somali population are not on the same view

about federalism for example; the people in Mogadishu support a centralised government

because they want to have everything that the country could have whether its

development, investment or government services while states like Puntland support

federalism that power and resources sharing is equitably shared by all the regions of the

country therefore there is ideological difference towards this (Ministry of Constitutional

Affairs Puntland 2017).

Generally, the research has shown that the majority of the respondents agree that the biggest

challenge is lack of commitment by the politicians and policy makers towards federalism which

hinders the effectiveness of a federal system. The people should also be committed to this

system as well in order for it to be applied. Other major challenge is the lack the factors

facilitating the country in adopting a federal system.

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4.4. Form of Federalism

Federalism has both domestic and external drivers and most important domestic driver to

decentralization is the prevailing mistrust in the Somali political elites and people according to

Elmi. There are several forms of federalism

A key informant from the Ministry of Interior of Puntland said;

Switzerland and Ethiopia have different federal systems of which they have based on the

real context on the ground to resolve their disputes and bring their people together under

one government which is now successful in those respective countries and Somalia can

adopt a federal system that best suits their society and has the shape of the Somali people

(Puntland ministry of interior 2017).

In a focus group discussion held in SIMAD University, one discussant argued that;

Federalism which Somalia should adopt has to be context based one and the state

regions have to go together as the best they fit each other. The central government has to

get exclusive powers and control over certain issues such as foreign relations and

defence while state governments will have some responsibilities left for. Somalia should

adopt that kind of federalism which is cooperative and the central and the regional

government work together hand in hand (SIMAD University Mogadishu 2017).

While another participant from SIMAD University FGD said;

Somalia doesn’t need federalism and there is no form of federal system that Somalia has

to adopt. We need a decentralized system of governance with a strong unitary national

government and I support decentralization rather than federalism (SIMAD University

Mogadishu 2017).

While a traditional elder key informant says;

Federalism can be based on regions, ethnicity or states. The federalism that best suites

Somalia is one which not dividing the people into clans for example, the UAE kind of

federation is best for Somalia because Somalis share race, ethnicity and religion like the

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United Arab Emirates and it fits the real Somali context (Traditional elder, Mogadishu

2017).

The form of federalism for Somalia is not clear. What is important is a clear constitution and a

constitutional court that solves the federal government and regional states constitutional disputes.

4.5. Federal and State Government Relations

4.5.1. Power, Authority and Resources Sharing

A well-defined constitution will elaborate how state governments and central government should

relate in terms of power, authority, natural resources and revenues. The constitution is the heart

of every nation state and it is the living document that dictates all governmental issues. Somalia

as a country has a provisional constitution which is not agreed and doesn’t clearly define these

issues well. There is also mismatch of the regional governments’ constitutions and the

provisional federal constitution which is also another obstacle to these relationships.

A traditional elder key informant from Mogadishu said;

The central government should have absolute powers in controlling all the national

issues be it a resource or a political power and should have the last say on national

policy decision making (Traditional elder Mogadishu 2017).

A participant from a focus group discussion held in SIMAD University argues;

The central government will need to have some exclusive powers while state governments

will have some other powers. The central government has the power of finances

(Currency), international relations, defence and immigration. The constitution should

make clarification on fiscal, administrative, resources or other revenues shares and

authorities. Regional states and central state swift relations and cooperation should be

made in order to ease these issues of power and authority (SIMAD University Mogadishu

2017).

A respondent from a focus group discussion held in PSU Garowe said;

The power and authority issue is a big challenge of federalism in real sense, the

constitutions of the federal states are not in line with the federal government’s

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constitution and in that regard we see disagreements between states and the central

government. Therefore, the federal constitution will have to make all these issues clear

and balance power and authority between states and the central government. The

resources vary from state to state, so the central government and state governments

should make an agreement on how they will share these resources and the percentage of

which every entity will get (Ministry of Constitution Puntland 2017).

Federalism varies in different countries and the type of federalism adopted by every country is

stated in their constitutions and the form which they are going to use is dictated by the socio-

economic, political and historical legacies of the country. The constitution enacted and the other

formal agreements made for the nation will clearly define the elements of power, authority and

resources.

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5.0. Conclusion and Recommendations:

5.1. Conclusion Federalism is a system which is contested, ambiguous and cannot be easily defined but still

stands as a powerful system of governance that solves political challenges and helps disperse and

separate power in every level of government. However this does not mean that it is better than a

confederal or a unitary system. Federalism has many advantages over centralism including

federalism being more flexible and reducing conflicts while accommodating the interests of the

citizens and their diversities making the achievement of national policies collectively easier.

Somalia adopts a federal system in order to end conflict and aggression among clans as it

satisfies the political interests of clan politicians and warlords. The adoption of a federal system

for Somalia was pushed by both domestic drivers and external drivers. The general public

opinion towards federalism is divided into two major categories: those that see federalism as an

alien that does not fit into Somali society while the other part sees federalism as a robust solution

for Somalia. The majority believe that the system is a solution for Somalia but the system is not

designed to fit a country ravaged by wars since it is not clear in the constitution and does not

satisfy some groups of people. Therefore, federalism increases complexity and confusion whilst

increasing conflict when jurisdictional lines are not clear in between the state and central

government.

As federalism processes are evolving in Somalia many are seeing it as incompatible system for

the horn of Africa’s war torn state and its society. Yet federalism still remains the only system

that can offer a quick recovery and rebirth of a Somali nation that stands on its own feet.

5.2. Recommendations The central government and regional governments should be collaborative and have

politically friendly relations in order to attain the prospects of a federal system.

The central government and regional governments should have a consensus on how they

will relate in terms of power, authority and resource sharing which should be sanctioned

in the constitution. The constitution should be well defined and clear to avoid collision

and confusion between the different authorities and systems.

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Both the regional and central authorities should improve civic education and awareness

amongst the public about federalism in order to give the citizens broader understanding

about federalism.

The federal system that Somalia has to adopt should be based on the actual Somali

context and developing a constitution that is subject to a national referendum and

consensus.

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Appendix: Data Collections Tools Interview guide:

1. What is your perception and attitude towards federalism?

2. What are the merits in federalism for Somalia?

3. What are the demerits of federalism for Somalia?

4. What are the challenges facing federalism as a political system for Somalia?

5. Which form of federalism should Somalia adopt?

6. How should central government and the regional governments relate in terms of;

a) Power and authority?

b) Resource sharing?

Focus group discussion topic guide:

1. Public perceptions and attitudes towards federalism

2. Merits in federalism for Somalia

3. Demerits of federalism for Somalia

4. Challenges facing federalism as a political system for Somalia

5. The form of federalism that should Somalia adopt

6. Central government and the regional governments relations in terms of;

a) Power and authority

b) Resource sharing

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