Somalia's Problem Isn't the Environment

Conflict arises in Somalia due to poor institutions and weak economic development. The environment aids in the chaos that surrounds the seas of Somalia but it is neither the sole instigator of violence nor the root of the country’s instability. The state of Somalia is in chaos due to the fact that it does not have a sovereign government or stable institutions. Since it does not have either a stable or legitimate government, its economy has been unable to develop.

Somalia has suffered through civil wars and bloody conflict for ages, since 1998 the country has been under the military rule of Colonel Abdullah Yusuf dubbing Somalia the Puntland State of Somalia. Due to conflicts between different ethnic groups, those represented by Yusuf’s government and those not, Somalia continues to struggle with crippling conflicts. These issues with ethnic conflict have little to do with the environment; instead they grow under a government that lacks a sufficient amount of institutions. Due to the lack of a civilian executive power and an overall sovereign government, the militarized government is not internationally legitimate. Since foreign actors do not consider the government legitimate, groups such as pirates have struggled to find their role in grand scheme of things.

Piracy is a huge issue for Somalia. Due to the canal separating Somalia and Yemen, the only waterway from the Indian Ocean into the Red Sea, conflict and violence arises between Somali pirates and foreign water vessels. These pirates consider themselves coast guards who work to protect their seas. However since their government is not considered internationally legitimate foreign ships do not consider these men has an actual coast guard but rather violent pirates. If Somalia had a stable and legitimate government with efficient institutions then foreign ships would be more willing to comprise with the Somali pirates.

The issue with piracy stems from a lack of stable Somali institutions. These Somali pirates are lost between the disconnect of their illegitimate government and the international stage. They want to protect their borders and develop some kind of economy for their country, but since they do not have a sovereign or legitimate government their efforts are looked as hostile on the international level. These pirates consider their hijacking of foreign ships as their job and duty. Especially, since this foreign ships come into Somali seas and over fish and pollute Somali fisheries. According to the New York Times interview we read for class, these Somali pirates do not want to be violent instead they want to protect their seas. A good point was made in class, if a foreign ship came into U.S. waters with an excessive amount of military grade weapons then the United States would without a doubt seize the ship along with the weapons. This would not be seen as piracy, because we have a stable and efficient government with working institutions. The only reason why these pirates are not considered as a legitimate coast guard is because Somali does not have a legitimate government.

Somali may not be seen as having a legitimate government, but these pirates are surprisingly efficient. It is unfair to dub these pirates as groups of angry hijackers especially since they are extremely organized.  According to The Economist, Somali pirates have an actual organization to their expeditions and the money that they seize from foreign vessels. This shows that Somalis have the ability to run efficient institutions; they just need to develop a basis for a stable executive government.

Without a legitimate government and efficient institutions, Somalia still struggles with terrorists groups – such as Al Shaabab – and conflicts with foreign states. These struggles have little to do with the environment especially since the same conflicts that occur at sea also occur on land. If the state of Somalia had a sovereign government they would be able to create strong institutions that would in turn allow them to combat the influence of terrorist groups and work to compromise with international actors at sea. Illegal fishing obviously causes chaos on Somali seas, but it would not be an issue if Somalia had the ability to discuss maritime and environmental policy with international actors. But, since it is not considered as a legitimate government is unable to bargain and compromise with the great powers of the world. The environment is a factor in these sea conflicts but it is definitely not the ultimate cause – the lack of a stable government with efficient institutions (a working political culture) is the main cause of Somalia’s history ridden with conflict and violence.

http://www.c-r.org/accord-article/endless-war-brief-history-somali-conflict

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/09/30/q-a-with-a-pirate-we-just-want-the-money/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=1

http://wardheernews.com/Articles_09/Jan/Waldo/08_The_two_piracies_in_Somalia.html

http://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21588942-new-study-reveals-how-somali-piracy-financed-more-sophisticated-you