Searching for an Identity: Examining the Somaliland Quest for Recognition

Authors

  • Nasir Mohamed Ali Institute for Social Studies, based in Hargeisa, Somaliland

Keywords:

recognition, de facto, de jure, parent state, sovereignty, territorial integrity

Abstract

The breakup of the Soviet Union and the emergence of many new states represent as one of the major political developments in post-Cold War era. Subsequently, the emergence of the new world order has changed both the character and the practice of the international law and has been regarded as one of the major if not the sole source of the contemporary international conflicts in a changing world. In the Horn of Africa, Somaliland unilaterally declared its separation from the rest of Somalia claiming the boundaries it inherited from its colonial master, the United Kingdom of Great Britain in 1960 before it voluntarily merged with the Italian colony in the south in the same year as part of Greater Somalia Ambition. This study argues that though the political rebuilding of Somaliland has for the most part been an internal outcome, it has no international legal status, and the international community has not yet responded the de jure recognition it demands. The conclusion that emerges from this study questions why Somaliland is not yet to be recognized by the international community, while both regional and international bodies has failed to take the opportunity to engage as a neutral third party and respond the recognition it demands.

 

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Published

2013-12-14

How to Cite

Ali, N. M. (2013). Searching for an Identity: Examining the Somaliland Quest for Recognition. Asian Journal of Humanities and Social Studies, 1(5). Retrieved from https://ajouronline.com/index.php/AJHSS/article/view/522

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 5 (2013): December 2013

Section

Articles

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