Making the State Work: the Role of the Civil Society Actors in Somaliland
Keywords:
state building, civil society, political stability, SomalilandAbstract
Since its separation from the rest of Somalia in 1991 following a bitter and long armed struggle against the ruling military regime, Somaliland Government has managed to restore peace and order through non-state actors representing the society at the grass roots. This civil engagement has served as a milestone in managing its state building efforts and to remain less fragile than the other parts of Somalia. This paper critically examines how three separate but interrelated key actors: traditional elders, the women, and the media have an important role to play in achieving a socioeconomic development and thus ensure political stability. The study combines both primary and secondary data to come up with concrete findings. In primary sources, interviews from academia, civil society, and close observation by the researcher were conducted. In secondary data, relevant literatures from books, journals, policy documents, among others were reviewed. The conclusion unveils that indigenous civil society organizations in post-conflict situations are key actors in the creation of social networks that could contribute stability and the strengthening of peace within the society at large in the long-term.
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