Somalia & Hobbes
The state is not an alien ideology — it is a political notion. This translates as people living on a piece of land with mutual consent: political agreement. This consensus justifies the borders of the state as well as preserves justice and impartiality amongst people. This theory has encouraged us to understand the condition of a state. By which one can determine whether it is a failed state or not.
In recent years Somalia has shown up as analogous to a failed state. It is known as a sanctuary for warlords, jihadist and pirates. For this cause, the country poses a security risk in the Horn of Africa. Nevertheless, in the mid-20th century, the country was a powerful force in the region (“Origins of the Somali civil war,” 2017). The rationale of the Fall of Somalia lies in the last thirty years of its progress and development. In that era, approximately 8.215 million humans were born on Somalian soil. From 1990 to 2020 (population of Somalia in 1990 — Google Search, n.d.), everything taught to these children, everything they ate and each individual they became is today’s Somalia. It meant that the state is merely its human assets, and the development of the state hides behind its investment in these assets.
Power has its unique dynamics. The throne can never be left empty, otherwise, someone else will fulfil the gap. After the defeat of Somalia in the Ogaden War, Siad Barre’s government (1978–91) went into an economic and civil crisis. Despite all catastrophes, he escaped to Mogadishu after bombing cities in Somaliland (“Origins of the Somali civil war,” 2017). As violence escalated, the state’s institution disintegrated one by one. When no institution left to regain control, the country fell into a total civil war. Local clans of militias noticed this opportunity to gain power and mobilized to fill the power vacuum. It led to widespread hunger and a refugee crisis. UN and US intervened before a humiliating pull-out. Low scale clashes continued until, in 2006, the Union of Islamic Courts became the first group to exert control over the capital, Mogadishu, for 15 years.
More than two million people flee the country, mostly educated and skilled Somalis. Some Foreign countries have officially accepted 678,000 Somalis as refugees. In the following decade, many Somalians were returning to their homeland. But since 2005, a new exodus has begun — provoked by clashes between jihadist and national forces (“Somalia: Counting the cost of anarchy,” 2011).
According to the report of the CIA and UN, the living standards of Somalia have slowly improved. It is astonishing for a nation that has undergone two decades of civil war. The figures do not tell the whole story. The comparative balance in living standards maybe, because of the work of foreign NGOs (“Somalia: Counting the cost of anarchy,” 2011). When a country does not produce opportunities, people use illegal means to keep the wheel rolling. In such cases, piracy is an attractive way of earning. They put a security risk in the Gulf of Aden. Without any law enforcement situation has gone out of control. Pirates have hijacked a ship near India, extruding the Somalian territory.
From the above-described situation, we can determine that Somalia has failed as a state. It fails to provide sustenance, shade and safety to its citizens.
Thomas Hobbes, sometimes known as Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury (1588–1679), was an English philosopher and modern political philosopher (Wikipedia Contributors, 2019). It’s been four centuries since his departure. But his teaching and ideas are still relevant to some extent today.
He is best known for his work ‘Leviathan’. In this book, he contributed to the Social Contract Theory. According to Hobbes, human nature in a most utter way is very greedy, selfish and violent. He used the term the State of Nature — a place where anyone can do whatever he wants — to describe this phenomenon. We socials, in the absence of authority always tend to adhere to the State of Nature. Hobbes’ idea of state says people should give their total obedience and submission to traditional power. If all individuals were to do this simultaneously, a condition would emerge for effective political rule. Moreover, he strongly discourages moan and protests fronting the government. Only if Leviathan — what Hobbes called the absolute ruler — directly threatens to kill them, they have the right to stand up. However, if the ruler imposes enormous taxes, stifles the parliament, cripples the economy, there is no reason to gather in streets for demand in change for government.
It is important to stress that in Hobbes’ opinion, sovereignty must be self-perpetuating, undivided, and ultimately absolute (Hobbes, 1968, pp.227–8). The justification for this is ‘the safety of the people’. By ‘safety’ is meant not merely minimum physical preservation. the sovereign must ensure the protection of all things held in the property (The development of modern state, pp.107).
Hobbes must be very disappointed seeing a state torn apart. Different armed groups control a large proportion of the country. Along with that, the central government is confined solely to the capital, relying on foreign aid and military assistance. Since there is no government, there is no authority, Somalia is in a moment where the passion of man, the greed of man, the violence and selfishness of man are on the rise. After all, there is no state to curb and curtail these emotions and violent nature. The state plays a crucial role in suppressing human nature and taming to stop human to commit a harmful act of violence.
According to Hobbes probably Somalia is in a state of nature. Hobbes would propose state, to go from the state of nature to civilization — centralization power, authority, weapon, military force and the control of violence on the hand of Leviathan. From the moment we have the installation of the modern state in our society, there is a monopoly over the use of force and violence. Hobbes consider the state responsible for constraint people and their nature. Whereas in the case of Somalia, a large piece of the country is under the control of different armed groups, divided under the banner of self-interests. This makes it analogous to a failed state; a state failed to control the free nature of its people and their wills. Although, the Hobbesian solution of the situation lies in the reality of massive surge operation against liberation groups. The extensive use of the military by a cruel, inhuman and absolute leader: Leviathan. In meantime liberating the will in people to change the government.
An example of such operations exists in modern-day history. Srilanka went into 25 years of civil war with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Srilankan Army along with the intelligence command of the Pakistani Army managed to siege terrorist in one province. After that, they launched full-scale military surge operations. During that operation on-one neither allowed to enter nor to leave the province even if they are civilians. This is also an example of the importance of the state and its rid.
Somalia should unleash the Leviathan. If we keep the advice and ideas Hobbes gave, they can help Somalia to revive. A strong centralized government to curb anarchy, with powerful military force. Without a centralized government peace and power, both will wander here and there. The problem with power is that it is seductive. Everyone will try to gain it, which more likely to leads to an inhuman crisis.
References
(The development of modern state, pp.107)
(Hobbes, 1968, pp.227–8)
Origins of the Somali civil war. (2017). [YouTube Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=clsarDL0RQY
population of somalia in 1990 — Google Search. (n.d.). Www.google.com. Retrieved March 27, 2021, from https://www.google.com/search?q=population+of+somalia+in+1990&oq=population+of+somalia+in+1990&aqs=chrome..69i57.6206j0j4&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
Somalia: Counting the cost of anarchy. (2011, January 26). BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-12285365
Wikipedia Contributors. (2019, March 12). Thomas Hobbes. Wikipedia; Wikimedia Foundation. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Hobbes
