STATE RECONSTITUTION AND THE CHALLENGE OF DEMOCRACY IN SOMALIA

Victor Ojakorotu () and L.Andy Afinotan ()
Additional contact information
Victor Ojakorotu: Department of International Studies, Monash University, Johannesburg
L.Andy Afinotan: Department of Political Science and Public Administration Joseph Ayo Babalola University, Ikeji-Arakeji.Nigeria

IBT Journal of Business Studies (JBS), 2009, vol. 5, issue 2, 140-152

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 practorianism had ensured the centralization of authority at the centre, making competition for control of the centre by emergent nouveau elites a zerosum game.In the attempt to restructure the state, many options have been advocated.Democracy seems to hold the best fancy, in view of 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. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2009
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://ibtjbs.ilmauniversity.edu.pk/journal/jbs/5. ... y%20in%20Somalia.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:aib:ibtjbs:v:5:y:2009:i:2:p:140-152

DOI: 10.46745/ilma.ibtjbs.2009.52.5

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in IBT Journal of Business Studies (JBS) from Ilma University, Faculty of Management Science Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Syed Kashif Rafi ().