Anarchy in Somalia
5675209
225841815
2008-07-15T17:28:45Z
72.94.48.81
/* External links */ no source showing that it is anarcho-capitalist
[[Image:An abandoned MOGADISHU Street known as the Green Line, Jan 1993.JPEG|thumb|300px|right|An abandoned Mogadishu street in 1993, shortly after the fall of the [[Siad Barre]] regime.]]
{{Campaignbox Somali Civil War}}
'''[[Somalia]]''', from 1991 to present, is cited as a real-world example of a '''[[stateless society]]''' and legal system.<ref name="maccallum">{{cite web
|url = http://www.mises.org/story/2701
|title = The Rule of Law Without the State
|accessdate = 2007-10-03
|last = MacCallum
|first = Spencer Heath
|authorlink = Spencer MacCallum
|date = 2007-09-12
|work = Mises Daily Article
|publisher = [[Ludwig von Mises Institute]]
}}
</ref><ref name="nyt">{{cite news |first=Jeffrey |last=Gettleman |authorlink=Jeffrey Gettleman |title=In Somalia, Those Who Feed Off Anarchy Fuel It |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/25/world/africa/25somalia.html |publisher=[[The New York Times]] |date=[[2007-04-27]] |accessdate=2008-01-13 }}</ref> From the fall of [[Siad Barre]]'s government in January 1991 until the [[Second Battle of Mogadishu|capture of Mogadishu]] by the [[Islamic Courts Union]] in June 2006, there was no permanent national government in Somalia, a situation which persists as of 2008.<ref name="cia"/> Large areas of the country such as [[Somaliland]], [[Puntland]], [[Galmudug]], [[Maakhir]], and [[Southwestern Somalia]] are internationally unrecognized [[autonomous region]]s. The remaining areas, including the capital [[Mogadishu]], were divided into smaller territories ruled by competing [[warlord]]s. In many areas there were (and still are) no formal regulations or licensing requirements for businesses and individuals.
Somalia is currently claimed as the sovereign territory of the [[Transitional Federal Government]], a deeply divided collection of warlords and tribal leaders, headed by nominal President [[Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed]]. Before December 2006, the TFG controlled only the town of [[Baidoa]], the third largest city.<ref name="cia">{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/so.html |title= Somalia |accessdate=2007-10-01 |work=[[CIA World Factbook]] }}</ref> The intervention of [[Ethiopia]]n government forces following the [[Rise of the Islamic Courts Union (2006)|rise of the Islamic Courts Union]], culminating in the latter's defeat in the [[Battle of Baidoa]], allowed the TFG to expand its control under the protection of the Ethiopians. The TFG has not been able to effectively collect taxes, has no notable finances or real power base,<ref name="irin"/> and has struggled to exert control over Mogadishu since an attempted move in late December 2006.<ref name="cia"/>
Economist [[Alex Tabarrok]] has claimed that Somalia in its stateless period provided a "unique test of the theory of [[anarchy]]" as espoused by [[anarcho-capitalism|anarcho-capitalists]]
[[David D. Friedman]] and [[Murray Rothbard]],<ref name="tabarroki">{{cite web |url=http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2004/04/somalia_and_the.html |title=Somalia and the theory of anarchy |accessdate=2008-01-13 |last=Tabarrok |first=Alex |authorlink=Alex Tabarrok |date=[[2004-04-21]] |work=[[Marginal Revolution (blog)|Marginal Revolution]]}}</ref> although this is strongly disputed by [[anarchism and capitalism|anti-capitalist anarchists]] who contend it is not anarchy, but merely [[chaos]]<ref>{{cite journal |last=Hargis |first=Mike |year=1993 |month=Winter |title=Somalia - Chaos or Anarchy? |journal=Libertarian Labor Review |issue=14 |url=http://www.syndicalist.org/archives/llr14-24/14b.shtml |accessdate= 2008-03-21 |quote= }}</ref> resulting from meddling by the United States.<ref name=MoreOrderly/> The Somali experience since the collapse of the state, and especially the failure of international intervention, has offered a clear challenge to elements of conventional [[economics|economic]], [[political theory|political]] and [[social order]] theory and the very premises under which Western diplomacy and [[development agency|development agencies]] operate,<ref name="abdinoor"/> and in particular, in the words of anthropologist Peter D. Little, "assumptions about the role of states in maintaining order and services".<ref name="little">Little, P. (2003). ''Somalia: Economy without state''. Oxford:International African Institute in association with James Currey.</ref>
== The rule of law ==
{{see also|Consuetudinary|polycentric law}}
{{Quote_box|
width=27%
|align=right
|quote=Where things went wrong is when we decided, the [[United Nations|U.N.]] decided, that somehow we could tell the Somalians how they should live with each other. At that point we lost the bubble…
|source=U.S. General [[Colin Powell]], 1995<ref name="crigler"/>}}
Following the downfall of the Siad Barre regime, there was effectively no formal monocentric government law in Somalia. While some urban areas such as Mogadishu had private police forces,<ref name="crigler">{{cite web |url=http://www.netnomad.com/crigler.html |title=Return to Somalia; In the Land that Americans Want to Forget, Some Modest Signs of Success |accessdate=2007-10-03 |last=Crigler |first=Frank |date=[[1995-10-15]] |work=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> many Somalis simply returned to the traditional [[Somali clan|clan]]-based legal structures for local governance and [[dispute resolution]].<ref name="abdinoor"/> Identified by ''[[The New York Times]]'' as "legendary [[individualism|individualists]]",<ref name="nyt"/> Somalis have been thought of as particularly susceptible to [[anarchist]] forms of social organisation; social scientists have identified the pastoralist way of life that a great many Somalis lead as in tension with formal [[statist]] legal systems.<ref name="mazrui">Mazrui, A. (1997). "Crisis in Somalia: From tyranny to anarchy." In Adam, H. & Ford, R. (Eds.), ''Mending rips in the sky: Options for Somali communities in the 21st century'' (pp. 5–11). Lawrenceville, NJ: The Red Sea Press, Inc.</ref> Political loyalties are based on clan and region rather than [[political party]], which, according to the UN [[Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs]] makes the sustainability of a centralised political system "difficult".<Ref name="irin"/>
Anthropologist [[Spencer MacCallum]] has identified the [[rule of law]] during the period as that of the Xeer, a customary law indigenous to Somalia. The law permits practices such as safe travel, trade, and marriage , which survives "to a significant degree" throughout Somalia, particularly in rural Somalia where it is "virtually unaffected".<ref name="maccallum"/>
MacCallum credits the Xeer with "Somalia's success without a central government, since it provides an authentic rule of law to support trade and economic development."<ref name="maccallum"/> In the Xeer, law and crime are defined in terms of [[property rights]]; consequently the [[criminal justice]] system is [[Damages|compensatory]] rather than the [[Prison|punitive]] system of the majority of [[state]]s, and the Xeer is "unequivocal in its opposition" to any form of [[taxation]]. Powell et. al (2006) find that the existence of the common law [[dispute resolution]] system in Somalia makes possible basic economic order.<ref name="powell">{{cite journal
| author = Benjamin Powell
| coauthors = Ryan Ford, Alex Nowrasteh
| date = 2006-01-30
| title = Somalia After State Collapse: Chaos or Improvement?
| journal = [[Independent Institute]]
}}</ref> MacCallum compares the Xeer to the [[common law]] in 6th century [[Scotland]], and notes that there is no monopoly of either [[police]] nor [[judiciary|judicial services]],<ref name="maccallum"/> a condition of [[polycentric law]].
== Social conditions ==
The international aid group ''[[Médecins Sans Frontières]]'' stated that the level of daily violence during this period was "catastrophic".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.msf.org.hk/public/contents/news?ha=&wc=0&hb=&hc=&revision%5fid=7031&item%5fid=7030 |title=Violence continues unabated in Somalia |accessdate=2008-01-13 |date=[[2005-08-22]] |work=News & Special Reports |publisher=[[Medecins Sans Frontieres]]}}</ref> A statistic from 2000 indicated that only 21% of the population had access to safe drinking water at that time, and Somalia had one of the highest child mortality rates in the world with 10% of children dying at birth and 25% of those surviving birth dying before age five.<ref name="cia"/> Additionally, "adult literacy is estimated to have declined from the already low level of 24% in 1989 to 17.1% in 2001."<ref name="world bank 2003">World Bank Advisory Committee for Somalia [http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2004/03/25/000112742_20040325090551/Rendered/PDF/282760Somalia0Country0reengagement0note.pdf Country Re-Engagement Note (pdf)] (2003), retrieved [[4 November]] [[2005]]</ref> A more recent 2003 study reported that the literacy rate was 19%.<ref name=WorldBank-2004/> The impact on human development in Somalia of governmental collapse and ensuing civil war was profound, leading to the breakdown of political institutions, the destruction of social and economic infrastructure and massive internal and external migrations.<ref name="world bank 2003"/>
However, according to one study:<ref name=MoreOrderly>{{cite web |url=http://www.independent.org/newsroom/article.asp?id=1880 |title=Somali Anarchy Is More Orderly than Somali Government |accessdate=2008-04-29 |date=[[2006-12-22]] |work=Benjamin Powell |publisher=[[The Independent Institute]]}}</ref>
<blockquote>In 2005, Somalia ranked in the top 50 percent in six of our 13 measures, and ranked near the bottom in only three: infant mortality, immunization rates, and access to improved water sources. This compares favorably with circumstances in 1990, when Somalia last had a government and was ranked in the bottom 50 percent for all seven of the measures for which we had that year’s data: death rate, infant mortality, life expectancy, main telephone lines, tuberculosis, and immunization for measles and DTP."</blockquote>
== Social organisation in the absence of government ==
{{see also|spontaneous order}}
In the absence of functioning governmental [[institution]]s and [[regulation]]s, [[voluntaryism|voluntary]] [[coercion|non-coercive]] alternatives emerged to a limited extent. Commentators identify evidence of areas where the private sector adapted to the stateless environment. A 2004 [[World Bank]] study of the Somalian economy concluded that "it may be easier than is commonly thought for basic systems of finance and some infrastructure services to function where government is extremely weak or absent."<ref name=WorldBank-2004>{{cite journal |last=Nenova |first=Tatiana |coauthors=[[Tim Harford|Harford, Tim]] |year=2004 |month=November |title=Anarchy and Invention |journal=Public Policy for the Private Sector |issue=280 |url=http://rru.worldbank.org/Documents/PapersLinks/280-nenova-harford.pdf |accessdate= 2008-03-10 |quote= }}</ref> ''[[The New York Times]]'' referred to post-state Mogadishu as "the ultimate example of [[deregulation]],"<ref name="nyt2"/> noting that "[g]utsy entrepreneurs, including some women, opened their own [[hospital]]s, schools… telephone companies, [[power plant]]s and [[port]]s."<ref name="nyt2"/>
=== Communications ===
[[Image:Haatuf.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Private media enterprises – such as ''Haatuf'' newspaper from [[Hargeisa]] shown here – mushroomed in the aftermath of state collapse.]]
Journalist [[Kevin Sites]], after a trip to anarchic Somalia, reported that "Somalia, though brutally poor, is a kind of [[libertarian]]'s dream. [[Free enterprise]] flourishes, and vigorous commercial competition is the only form of regulation. Somalia has some of the best [[telecommunications]] in Africa, with a handful of companies ready to wire home or office and provide crystal-clear service, including international long distance, for about $10 a month."<ref name=hotzone>{{cite book |authorlink=Kevin Sites| last = Sites | first = Kevin | title = In the Hot Zone | publisher = Harper Perennial | location = New York | year = 2007 | isbn = 9780061228759 }}</ref> Abdullahi Mohammed Hussein of Telecom Somalia stated that "the government post and telecoms company used to have a monopoly but after the regime was toppled, we were free to set up our own business",<ref name="bbc lawless">{{cite news |first=Joseph |last=Winter |title=Telecoms thriving in lawless Somalia |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4020259.stm |work=BBC News Africa |publisher=[[British Broadcasting Corporation]] |date=2004-11-19 |accessdate=2007-10-03 }}</ref> The World Bank reported in 2007 that only about 1.5% of the population had a telephone<ref name=WorldBank-2004/> resulting in the emergence of ten fiercely competitive telephone companies.<ref name="ng"/> According to the CIA World Factbook, private telephone companies "offer service in most major cities" via [[wireless]] technology, charging "the lowest international rates on the continent",<ref name="cia"/> while ''[[The New York Times]]'' has noted the private provision of [[mail]] services.<ref name="nyt"/> ''[[The Economist]]'' cited the telephone industry in anarchic Somalia as "a vivid illustration of the way in which governments…can often be more of a hindrance than a help."<ref name="the economist">{{cite journal
| date = 2005-12-20
| title = Somalia calling: An unlikely success story
| journal =[[The Economist]]
| url = http://www.awdalnews.com/wmview.php?ArtID=6661
}}</ref>
[[Gaalkacyo]], a desert town in the central Somalia, was provided with [[streetlights]] by local entrepreneur Abdirizak Osman, who expanded his enterprises from telecommunications to power generators, not only lighting the town but also supplying free electricity to the local hospital.<ref name="ng"/> Since the fall of the government, dozens of private [[newspapers]], [[radio]] and [[television station]]s mushroomed (Mogadishu has two fiercely competing TV stations<ref name="ng"/>), with private radio stations or newspapers in almost all major towns.<ref name="irin"/>
=== Transport ===
In 1989, before the collapse of the government, the [[national airline]] had only one airplane. Now there are approximately fifteen airlines, over sixty aircraft, six international destinations, and more domestic routes in Somalia. Private airlines, including [[Air Somalia]] and [[Daallo Airlines]], serve several domestic locations as well as [[Djibouti]], the [[United Arab Emirates]], [[Paris]] and [[London]]. According to a 2005 World Bank report, the "private airline business in Somalia is now thriving with more than five carriers and [[price war]]s between the companies."<ref name = "WB2005-03-18">{{cite web |url=http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNTRIES/AFRICAEXT/SOMALIAEXTN/0,,contentMDK:20398872~menuPK:367671~pagePK:141137~piPK:141127~theSitePK:367665,00.html |title=Africa Open for Business |accessdate=2007-10-03 |date=2005-03-18 |publisher=The [[World Bank]] }}</ref> Mohammed Yassin Olad, owner of Daallo Airlines, has stated that the absence of government has led to both difficulties and benefits, and commented that "[[Political corruption|corruption]] is not a problem, because there is no government…We build the airports and we service the airports and we only fly when we are sure it's safe".<ref name="WB2005-03-18"/> A small [[fishing village]] prior to the fall of the state, [[Bosaso]] developed a lucrative [[import/export]] trade of U.S. $15 million per year out of its port during the 1990s.<ref name=bock>
{{cite web
|url=http://www.antiwar.com/bock/b042903.html
|title=Is Somalia a Model?
|publisher=[[Antiwar.com]]
|accessdate=2008-03-10
|last=Bock
|first=Alan
|authorlink=Alan Bock
|date=[[2003-04-29]]
}}
</ref> The population grew in eight years from 5,000 to 150,000, sustained by public services provided on a competitive basis by [[private enterprise]], and court systems, schools and a university founded by the local community.<ref name=bock/>
=== Education ===
[[Image:Mogadishu UNOSOM classroom.jpg|thumb|right|The number of primary schools in Somalia have nearly doubled since 1991, without the involvement of central government.]]
In a 2007 study of the current state of [[education]] in Somalia since the collapse of central authority in 1991, Abdullahi Sheikh Abdinoor found that "the Somali people have adapted rather well, under the circumstances, to the absence of the state, despite continuing insecurity and lawlessness prevailing in the country."<ref name="abdinoor"/> Following the destruction of educational systems and infrastructure during the [[Somali Civil War|civil war]], nascent educational institutions have emerged in anarchy; teachers and other educators who saw the need for education "quite [[spontaneous order|spontaneously]]" opened their own institutions.<ref name="abdinoor">{{cite journal
| quotes =
| last = Abdinoor
| first = Abdullahi Sheikh
| year = 2007
| title = Constructing Education in a Stateless Society: The Case of Somalia
| journal = Cultural Studies in Education
| url = http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/send-pdf.cgi/Abdinoor%20Abdullahi%20Sheikh.pdf?acc_num=ohiou1173755011
| accessdate = 2007-10-02
}}</ref> For-profit educational institutions were established simultaneously by entrepreneurial businessmen.<ref name="nyt"/>
For centuries, the Somali community, as opposed to the state, has been in charge of Islamic education in all aspects, providing financial and administrative support.<ref name="abdinoor"/> The majority of the schools are provided by the [[free market]], sustained by school fees (typically [[USD|$]]10 per month<ref name="nyt2">{{cite news |first=Jeffrey |last=Getteleman |title=Business and Islam: Allies Against Anarchy in Somalia |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/18/world/africa/18somalia.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=[[2006-11-26]] |accessdate=2008-01-13 }}</ref>); in cases where there are state-supported public schools, private schools are often coveted for their academic excellence, outperforming their public competitors in academic achievement tests.<ref name="abdinoor"/> The number of primary schools have risen from 600 before the civil war to 1,172 schools today, with an increase of 28% in primary school enrollment over the last 3 years.<ref>{{cite web
| last =Ihebuzor
| first =Noel
| title =EC and UNICEF join hands to support education in Somalia
| publisher =United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
| date = 2005-01-31
| url =http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/VBOL-696HBA?OpenDocument
| accessdate = 2007-02-09 }}</ref> [[Enrollment]] in [[secondary school]]s has also increased since 1998.<ref name="world bank 2003"/> In Mogadishu, the [[Benadir University]], the [[Somalia National University]], and the [[Mogadishu University]] are three of the eight universities providing [[tertiary education]] in Southern Somalia.
===Currency===
Rival producers of [[Somali shilling]]s emerged after 1991. These included the Na shilling, which failed to gain widespread acceptance, and the Balweyn I and II, which were forgeries of pre-1991 bank notes. A competition for [[seigniorage]] drove the value of the money down to about $0.04 per SoSh (1000) note, approximately the commodity cost. Consumers have refused to accept bills larger than the 1991 denominations, which has helped stopped the devaluation from spiraling further. The pre-1991 notes and the subsequent forgeries are treated as the same currency. It takes large bundles to make cash purchases.<ref>http://www.independent.org/pdf/working_papers/64_somalia.pdf</ref>
== Economic impact of anarchy ==
{{details|Economy of Somalia}}
[[Image:Somalia marketplace 2 DoD.JPG|thumb|left|200px|In the absence of government regulation, Somali [[marketplace]]s have thrived.<ref name="crigler"/>]]
Although it states that no reliable statistics are available for the period in question, the [[United Nations]] claims that Somalia, already one of the poorest countries in the world, has become even poorer as a result of civil war.<ref name="irin">{{cite web |url=http://www.irinnews.org/country.aspx?CountryCode=SO&RegionCode=HOA |title=The Somali Democratic Republic |accessdate=2007-10-03 |publisher=UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs}}</ref> However, the [[CIA Factbook]] maintains that gains were made during the early 2000s; "despite the seeming anarchy, Somalia's [[service sector]] has managed to survive and grow. Mogadishu's main [[market]] offers a variety of goods from food to the newest electronic gadgets. Hotels continue to operate, and militias provide security."<ref name="cia"/>
When extreme poverty (percentage of individuals living on less than PPP$1 a day) was last measured by the World Bank in 1998, Somalia fared better than wealthier [[West Africa]]n and neighboring countries, over some of whom Somalia also had superior infrastructure.<ref name=WorldBank-2004/> The CIA World Factbook counsels that "Statistics on Somalia's GDP, growth, per capita income, and inflation should be viewed skeptically",<ref name="cia"/> while estimating Somalias [[GDP per capita]] at $600.
{{Quote box
| quote =We have been through some hard times…but the worst<br> was when we had a government. Once there was<br> no government, there was opportunity!
| source =Telecommunications tycoon Abdirizak Ido<ref name="ng">{{cite journal |url=http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0207/feature3/fulltext.html |title=Somali |accessdate=2008-01-13 |last=Cockburn |first=Andrew |year=2002 |month=July |journal=[[National Geographic]]}}</ref>
| width =24%
| align =right
}}
In the absence of a Somali state and its institutions, the private sector grew "impressively" according to the World Bank in 2003, particularly in the areas of trade, commerce, transport, remittance and infrastructure services and in the primary sectors, notably in livestock, agriculture and fisheries.<ref name="world bank 2003"/> In 2007, the United Nations reported that the country's [[service industry]] is also thriving.<ref name="irin"/> Economist Peter T. Leeson, in an [[event study]] of "the impact of [[anarchy]] on Somali development", found that "[t]he data suggest that while the state of this development remains low, on nearly all of 18 key indicators that allow pre- and post-stateless welfare comparisons, Somalis are better off under anarchy than they were under government." Powell et al. concur that in absolute terms, Somalia’s [[living standards]] have improved and compare favorably with many existing African [[state]]s, but also report that living standards have often improved "''relative'' to other African countries since the collapse of the Somali central government."<ref name="powell"/>
== Islamic courts ==
[[Image:Icu somalia map.png|thumb|right|Political map of Somalia in December 2006 showing the political structure of the [[Islamic Courts Union]] at the height of its power during the [[Somali Civil War]].]]
{{details3|[[Islamic Courts Union]], [[Rise of the Islamic Courts Union (2006)]], [[Islamist insurgency in Somalia (2007–present)]]}}
Following the collapse of centralized government, much of the legal system and most of the educational institutions and social services fell under the control of religious institutions, which often received significant funding and support from international charities. In 2005, some of these clerical organizations united to form the [[Islamic Courts Union]], after the secular warlords began to challenge the [[sharia]]-based judicial institutions. Wary of Islamist paramilitaries in the age of the [[War on Terror]], the [[CIA]] funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars to secular warlords inside Somalia in 2006, intending thereby to neutralize the threat of suspected members of [[Al Qaeda]] they believed to be sheltered by the ICU.<ref name="fail">{{cite news |first=Mark |last=Mazzetti |title=CIA failed in Somalia, officials say |url=http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/06/08/news/somalia.php |work=[[International Herald Tribune]] |date=[[2006-06-09]] |accessdate=2008-01-13 }}</ref> This was cited by experts as a factor in the resurgence of Islamic militias in the country, prompting the latter to engage in [[pre-emptive strike]]s which routed the warlords and led to the seizure of Mogadishu by the ICU.<ref name="fail"/> The ICU gained control of Mogadishu and its surrounding districts in June 2006, after the [[Second Battle of Mogadishu]]. The ICU was [[War in Somalia (2006–present)|later overthrown]] by the [[Ethiopia]]n military with the support of the [[United Nations]], [[African Union]], and the [[United States]] government. After the ICU forces were [[Fall of Mogadishu|chased from Mogadishu]], the leaders of the [[Transitional Federal Parliament]] entered Somalia declaring themselves the rightful governors of Somalia. As of October 2007, there was still widespread opposition within Somalia to the TFG, and the TFG's leaders and their allies were still attempting to suppress a strong [[insurgency]].
== See also ==
* [[Kritarchy]], rule by judiciary.
==References==
{{refs|2}}
==Further reading==
*{{cite book | last = Notten | first = Michael | title = The Law of the Somalis | publisher = The Red Sea Press, Inc | location = City | year = 2005 | isbn = 9781569022504 }}
*{{cite book | last = Little | first = Peter | title = Somalia: Economy Without State | publisher = International African Institute in association with James Currey | location = Oxford | year = 2003 | isbn = 0253216486 }}
== External links ==
* [http://www.cato-unbound.org/archives/august-2007/ Who Needs Government? Pirates, Collapsed States, and the Possibility of Anarchy], August 2007 issue of [[Cato Unbound]] focusing on Somali anarchy.
{{Anarchism2}}
[[Category:Economic development]]
[[Category:History of anarchism|Somali anarchy]]
[[Category:History of Somalia|Anarchy]]
[[Category:Politics of Somalia|Anarchy]]