The Horn of Africa as Common Homeland

Leenco Lata

Description

Contemporary states are generally presumed to be founded on the elements of nation, people, territory, and sovereignty. In the Horn of Africa however, the attempts to find a neat congruence among these elements created more problems than they solved. Leenco Lata demonstrates that conflicts within and between states tend to connect seamlessly in the region. When these conflicts are seen in the context of pressures on the state in an era of heightened globalization, it becomes obvious that the Horn needs to adopt multidimensional self-determination.

In Structuring the Horn of Africa as a Common Homeland, Leenco Lata discusses the history of conflicts within and between Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, and the Sudan, and investigates local and global contributory factors. He assesses the effectiveness of the nation-state model to forge a positive relationship between these governments and the people.

Part 1 summarizes the history of self-determination and the state from the French Revolution to the post-Cold War period. Part 2 shows how the states of the Horn of Africa emerged in a highly interactive way, and how these developments continue to reverberate throughout the region, underscoring the necessity of simultaneous regional integration and the decentralization of power as an approach to conflict resolution.

Motivated by a search for practical answers rather than a strict adherence to any particular theory, this significant work by a political activist provides a thorough analysis of the regions complicated and conflicting goals.

Informations

• Publié par: Wilfrid Laurier University Press
• Date de parution: 01 janvier 2006
• Nombre de lectures: 2
• EAN13: 9780889209350
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

The Horn of Africa as Common Homeland

The State and Self-Determination in the Era of Heightened Globalization

The Horn of Africa as Common Homeland

The State and Self-Determination in the Era of Heightened Globalization

Leenco Lata

We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program for our publishing activities. We acknowledge the Government of Ontario through the Ontario Media Development Corporation’s Ontario Book Initiative.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Lata, Leenco The Horn of Africa as common homeland : the state and self-determination in the era of heightened globalization / Leenco Lata.

1.Self-determination, National — Africa, Northeast.2. Africa, Northeast — Poli- tics and government — 1974 – i.Title.

Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 0-88920-456-x

dt367.8.l38 2004

963.07'2

©2004Wilfrid Laurier University Press Waterloo, Ontario, Canada www.wlupress.wlu.ca

c2004-905083-4

Cover photograph: Mogadishu, Somalia. Gunman on guard outside the offices of a new radio station, Horn Afrik, to protect it from looting bandits or militiamen from rival clans. A sign on the wall asks that visitors leave their weapons outside the com- pound. Photo © Sven Torfinn/Panos Pictures.

Cover design by Leslie Macredie; text design by P.J. Woodland.

Every reasonable effort has been made to acquire permission for copyright material used in this text, and to acknowledge all such indebtedness accurately. Any errors and omissions called to the publisher’s attention will be corrected in future printings.

Printed in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or trans- mitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the pub- lisher or a licence from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For an Access Copyright licence, visit www.accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to 1-800 -893-5777.

Dedicated to Gunnar Hasselblatt

for his solidarity and generosity at

a time when the struggle of the

Oromo people had very few friends.

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List of Figures and Maps Acknowledgements xi Introduction1

ix

Table of Contents

Part I SelfDetermination in History 13 1Self-Determination as Popular Sovereignty15 2Decolonization in Africa: Aberrant Self-Determination 3Post-Cold War Trends in the Nature of the State37 4Emerging Trends in Self-Determination65

31

Part II Resonance of Conflicts in the Horn of Africa 83 5Interactive State Formation in the Horn of Africa85 6The Uncertain and Interdependent Fate of Horn Entities105 7Nation-Building: Fitting States into National Moulds115 8Nation-Building in the Sudan139 9Unification and Nation-Building: Somalia’s Sacred Mission155 10Imagining the Horn of Africa Common Homeland163 11Conclusion191

References Index215

201

vii

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List of Figures and Maps

Figure1Graphic Representation of Community in Space and Authority77 Map1Egyptian Lines of Advance89 Map2French and Italian Lines of Advance95 Map3Tripartite Partition: Kitchener Scheme of1913 107 Map4Anglo-Italian World WariPartition Scheme107 Map5Italian Administrative Divisions109

ix