STATE RECONSTITUTION AND THE CHALLENGE OF DEMOCRACY IN SOMALIA
Download| Volume 5 Issue 2 2009 | |
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| Author(s): |
Victor Ojakorotu
L. Andy Afinotan
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| Abstract | At independence, there were mixed feelings about the potential for survival of the modern state in Africa. This was expected, given the antecedents to the state formation processes that preceded this era. Response of different states to the new demands foisted upon the emergent state structures threw up new challenges which formed the kernel of new internal struggles for power. Colonial praetorians had ensured the centralization of authority at the center, making competition for control of the center by emergent nouveau elites a zero-sum game. In the attempt to restructure the state, many options have been advocated. Democracy seems to hold the best fancy, given prevailing international norms. Making use of library research and content analysis methodologies, the paper examined the factors connected with the collapse of the state machinery in Somalia and concluded that though the democratic option may be the ideal choice for organizing modern states, it could also facilitate its disintegration. Hence, the paper recommended a blend between the strongman alternative and the democratic option as a viable panacea for restoring legitimacy and authority to the state of Somalia. |
| Keywords | Democracy, state structure, colonial state, practorianism. |
| Year | 2009 |
| Volume | 5 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Type | Short Report |
| Recognized by | Higher Education Commission of Pakistan, HEC | Category | "Y" | Journal Name | IBT Journal of Business Studies | Publisher Name | ILMA University | Jel Classification | - | DOI | http://dx.doi.org/10.46745/ilma.jbs.2009.05.02.05 | ISSN no (E, Electronic) | 2409-6520 | ISSN no (P, Print) | 2416-8393 | Country | Pakistan | City | Karachi | Institution Type | University | Journal Type | Open Access | Manuscript Processing | Blind Peer Reviewed | Format | Paper Link | http://ibtjbs.ilmauniversity.edu.pk/journal/jbs/5.2/5.%20State%20Reconstitution%20and%20the%20Challenge%20of%20Democracy%20in%20Somalia.pdf | Page | 140-152 |