Remedying the Legacy of State Collapse

This chapter discusses why the campaign of clan cleansing of 1991–1992 was a key shift in the Somali civil war and remains the major break-line underlying Somali national politics today. It then lays out three principles that might help avoid simply redrawing the lines along which the civil war was fought, and concludes with recommendations for three tangible steps towards peace and reconciliation. At the heart of the mistrust and mutual rejection in Somalia today lie the actions of former leaders of the United Somali Congress and Somali National Movement, who resorted to clan-based killings and expulsions in order to cover up their past complicity with the military regime; spun false clan histories to rebrand themselves as heroic leaders of their clans; and then tried to establish authority over parts of the state and country in the name of clan.