Christina Rodriguez

Somalia is currently in a state of disunity and chaos. Recently the country made headlines because of a piracy issue, but Somalia has been in a state of disarray for the past 50 years. The current state of Somalia can be attributed to an ongoing power struggle that has been occurring since Somalia was granted its independence in 1961 in addition to the countries climate and agricultural based economic system.

Somalia is in a current state of chaos because of the power struggle or lack of central government. Prior to being granted its independence Somalia had been controlled on and off by British and Italian government. After adopting its first national constitution in June 1961 Somalia experienced a brief period of stability marked by a democracy and parliamentary form of government and one person political parties. (cia.gov) However, as the government grew to be centered in Southern Somalia and government positions tended to be given to people from Southern Somalia, resentment and opposition toward the government grew. Under Mohamed Ibrahim’s governance the country renounced its claims to Somali populated regions in Ethiopia in the hopes of reconciling with the country. While this was a positive step, many Somali’s disliked the prime ministers efforts to reconcile with Ethiopia, who many, including the Somali army, considered an enemy. This disagreement ended the democratic two party government in Somalia as it led to the installation of Mohamed Barre as president. This also  gave rise to the current governmental instability of the country because it destroyed the democracy and took away peoples freedoms. Barre created a 20 member council which held executive and legislative power. The council favored scientific socialism, limited freedoms, and used military force to subjugate the population. (cia.gov) In 1977 Barre waged war against Ethiopia and invaded the country but was defeated. After the war with Ethiopia Somalia left its socialist ideologies and in 1978 turned to the United States for aid. Following the end of the war with Ethiopia opposition groups continued to develop because they disagreed with the governments decisions. These groups caused the all-out civil war which broke out in 1980. This civil war is ongoing and is the major reason for the chaos of the country. The Piracy issue can be linked directly to the country’s lack of a central government. Since the country is in an ongoing civil war there is no one to prevent the piracy from occurring.  

Despite Somalia’s dry and hot climate, the country’s economy is agriculturally and pastorally based. Since the country receives little rainfall farming is limited to coastal areas where irrigation is what provides the water for crops. Livestock is the main source of income however in recent years; livestock export has continued to decrease as those who purchased the animals believe them to be unhealthy. In the spring of 2011 the country experienced a major drought which also hurt the economy in addition to causing a major starvation problem. Farmers were unable to grow crops and food prices grew exorbitantly. (cia.gov) Lack of food only added to the chaos in Somalia occurring between rival factions. People were forced to go to already overcrowded refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya in addition to internally displaced persons camps in Mogadishu.

The end of the democratic government and installation of the 20 member council is what ended the central government and sparked the ongoing civil war. A democratic government is better at maintaining order than the council because there would be one member to make the executive decisions and the people would vote on what they want. The drought led to a famine which while it added to the chaos was not the initial cause of the nation’s problems. Piracy was able to rise because of the disorder the country was already in and the lack of any government at all.