TL:DR available at the end
We all know that one of the main factors in Somalia's current instability and violence is conflict between tribes aka qabiil. But in my opinion this is only the surface of the matter. Qabiil/tribe has (obviously) practically always existed in Somalia, so the idea that qabiil is the sole reason beg the question of why conflict or war has only exploded in modern times (post Siad Barre).
The main reason for Somalia's conflict right now is our inability to reconcile qabiil with the newly introduced concept of a modern state that runs on a centralized government, and that is represented by a single individual who is (generally speaking) the highest authority and most esteemed individual in the country. Not only does every tribe want to control the government, but every tribe involved in the conflict wants a bite of that presidential prestige that comes with a member of their own tribe being voted in (in the same sense that African-Americans wanted Obama to become president).
In medieval times, qabiil didn't result in the massive amount of violence and tension that occurs today because the notion of having a centralized government didn't exist, and each tribe ran their own Sultanate (for example the Sultanate of Mogadishu and the Ifat Sultanate both existed in the same time period). People like to forgot that this is the way practically every country (ESPECIALLY western countries) started off, and they also went through decades (or in the case of the UK, centuries) of on and off conflicts and wars to properly unify and get to where they are today. Why do you think the United States is called the UNITED, states? Why is the United Kingdom called the UNITED Kingdom? They acknowledge the existence of the different states or 'kingdoms' and found a way that works for them to make their society work.
For Somalia, I don't think the solution is to erase or silence the concept of qabiil, but rather it's to find a way to unite all qabiils in a similar fashion that Americans or the U.K. has. Instead of having a singular 'president' I think the best idea for Somalia would be to have something like a board of presidents, where each tribe and/or region has their own president voted in. This way every tribe feels equally heard. By the way, this model is by no means new or out of the ordinary; Switzerland (arguably one of the best countries in Europe) already operates on this model. In Switzerland there is no 'Head of State' but rather a Federal Council that serves as a collective head of state. In the words of the Swiss government, the 'president' of the confederation is "not the head of state, because the entire Federal Council is the collective head of state".
Of course we still need one individual however to represent the 'board', so to speak. In this case the board should themselves vote in a representative who is given a less prestigious title than 'president' (as they are not the 'president') but rather someone who is selected (through some objective metric like a series of tests to eliminate bias) to articulate the voice and vision of the board. THOUGHTS? Obviously this idea can be tweaked or adjusted but the main idea is Somalia should not have a single leader, but a confederation of 'leaders' like Switzerland.
TL:DR
The main reason for Somalia's conflict is every tribe clamoring to take control of the government, and every tribe wanting a bite of that presidential prestige that comes with a member of their own tribe being voted in (in the same sense that African-Americans wanted Obama to become president).
SOLUTION:
Somalia should have a board of presidents like Switzerland, and have a 'speaker' (less prestigious because Somalis are still quite archaic) to represent them at international meetings. AKA: United States of Somalia
Let me know what y'all think
We all know that one of the main factors in Somalia's current instability and violence is conflict between tribes aka qabiil. But in my opinion this is only the surface of the matter. Qabiil/tribe has (obviously) practically always existed in Somalia, so the idea that qabiil is the sole reason beg the question of why conflict or war has only exploded in modern times (post Siad Barre).
The main reason for Somalia's conflict right now is our inability to reconcile qabiil with the newly introduced concept of a modern state that runs on a centralized government, and that is represented by a single individual who is (generally speaking) the highest authority and most esteemed individual in the country. Not only does every tribe want to control the government, but every tribe involved in the conflict wants a bite of that presidential prestige that comes with a member of their own tribe being voted in (in the same sense that African-Americans wanted Obama to become president).
In medieval times, qabiil didn't result in the massive amount of violence and tension that occurs today because the notion of having a centralized government didn't exist, and each tribe ran their own Sultanate (for example the Sultanate of Mogadishu and the Ifat Sultanate both existed in the same time period). People like to forgot that this is the way practically every country (ESPECIALLY western countries) started off, and they also went through decades (or in the case of the UK, centuries) of on and off conflicts and wars to properly unify and get to where they are today. Why do you think the United States is called the UNITED, states? Why is the United Kingdom called the UNITED Kingdom? They acknowledge the existence of the different states or 'kingdoms' and found a way that works for them to make their society work.
For Somalia, I don't think the solution is to erase or silence the concept of qabiil, but rather it's to find a way to unite all qabiils in a similar fashion that Americans or the U.K. has. Instead of having a singular 'president' I think the best idea for Somalia would be to have something like a board of presidents, where each tribe and/or region has their own president voted in. This way every tribe feels equally heard. By the way, this model is by no means new or out of the ordinary; Switzerland (arguably one of the best countries in Europe) already operates on this model. In Switzerland there is no 'Head of State' but rather a Federal Council that serves as a collective head of state. In the words of the Swiss government, the 'president' of the confederation is "not the head of state, because the entire Federal Council is the collective head of state".
Of course we still need one individual however to represent the 'board', so to speak. In this case the board should themselves vote in a representative who is given a less prestigious title than 'president' (as they are not the 'president') but rather someone who is selected (through some objective metric like a series of tests to eliminate bias) to articulate the voice and vision of the board. THOUGHTS? Obviously this idea can be tweaked or adjusted but the main idea is Somalia should not have a single leader, but a confederation of 'leaders' like Switzerland.
TL:DR
The main reason for Somalia's conflict is every tribe clamoring to take control of the government, and every tribe wanting a bite of that presidential prestige that comes with a member of their own tribe being voted in (in the same sense that African-Americans wanted Obama to become president).
SOLUTION:
Somalia should have a board of presidents like Switzerland, and have a 'speaker' (less prestigious because Somalis are still quite archaic) to represent them at international meetings. AKA: United States of Somalia
Let me know what y'all think
so according to this logic of yours no basically no countries on Earth have a history beyond 2 centuries (save for Japan). Even France dissolved at one point when they overthrew their monarchy and replaced it the Republic during the French Revolution lol I could go on
