Federal structure for Somalia: an upas tree of a panacea?

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Periodical article

Title:	Federal structure for Somalia: an upas tree of a panacea?
Author:	Ismail, Ismail Ali
Year:	2000
Periodical:	Horn of Africa
Volume:	18
Issue:	1-4
Pages:	70-80
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Somalia
Subjects:	political systems federalism
Abstract:	After nearly a decade of conflict in Somalia, the thirteenth attempt at reconciliation in Djibouti provided some light at the end of the tunnel. Following the National Charter agreed upon in Djibouti in 2000, the new government is expected to put the country back on its feet within an interim period of only three years and to steer it towards a new era of federalism, something totally unprecedented in the annals of Somali history. The purpose of this paper is to lay bare the disabling difficulties that are inherent in running a federal structure in Somalia and, in so doing, to examine whether federalism will be a poison or a panacea for Somalia. Attention is paid to the complexities involved in the multiple levels of government, taxation, territorial subdivisions, human resources requirements, conflict resolution, democracy and stability, and the issue of a federal capital. Two main conclusions are drawn: it is not the structural framework of a political system that guarantees good governance; and without the substance of good governance any structure will fail to achieve its purpose. A simple unitary system with genuinely inbuilt decentralization is advocated for Somalia. Notes, ref.