Conflict Management: Somalia

             Conflict and Conflict Management: Somalia
             Somalia is a country of disarray which contains a seemingly never-ending struggle to find itself. As Somalis are an ancient people, their problems, although recent, stem back as far as their earliest years. Somalia is a country divided, conflicted by its diversity of its people and their affiliations. Attempts have been made to stop the violence, pain, and agony suffered by millions of Somalis but none yet have provided an answer to Somalia's demise. However, through consistent effort and determination by organizations around the world, a resolution may hopefully be achieved.
             Understanding Somalia and its current problems is in correlation with the history of its people and their problems in the past. Historically, the area of Somalia was home to two peoples: pastoral and agropastoral groups living in the interior, who were separated as far back as 100 A.D. and possibly further. Differences in political structures and administrative/legal systems were already clear even that far back in time. Furthermore defining their differences was the creation of clans-families. Six major clan-families were formed and are still around today. Somalis have shown a fierce independence, an unwillingness to submit to authority, a strong clan consciousness, and conflict among clans and subclans despite their sharing a common language, religion, etc. Clan consciousness has been described as centering on the struggle for recognition in all forms – social, political, economic, and cultural rights and status. Despite the clan consciousness, the Somali community historically preserved its basic unity because of the relative homogeneity of the society.
             Colonialism would change the shape of Somalia forever. By 1885, there were five mini Somalilands: various regions controlled by the Britain, France, Italy, and neighboring Ethiopia. The British and Italians mostly controlled the region f...

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Conflict Management: Somalia. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 07:40, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/18571.html