Somaliland's Struggle for Recognition
Team: Leila Tayeb, Christina Kiel, Sarwat Hameed, Vishakha Apte
Semester: Spring 2006
Somaliland's Struggle for Recognition -New School GPIA Project
1. Somaliland is a democratic and peaceful state comprising part of the "failed" state of Somalia. A former British protectorate, Somaliland briefly existed as a state before its union with Somalia. Following the Somalia civil war, Somaliland declared independence in 1991 but has yet to be recognised by any other state. The non-profit diplomatic consultancy, Independent Diplomat, is advising the Somaliland government on itsdiplomacy, including on this question.
2. The GPIA needs to examine the following questions: -What is the history of Somaliland? How does that history affect Somaliland's claimfor recognition as an independent state? -What are the criteria for the recognition of a state? Does Somaliland meet those criteria? If it does not, what does it need to do in order to fulfil them? -Is there a process for recognising a new state, eg in the UN or African Union? What does it consist of? Is the decolonisation process of the UN relevant in this case? -What are the key obstacles to recognition (including the international community'sapproach to Somalia; regional obstacles to recognition; the "secessionist genie out of the bottle" fear)? -What are the key arguments that Somaliland can develop to support its claim for recognition? How can it overcome the obstacles identified above? -In addition, it would be helpful if, in the course of this work, if the group could identify the following: information on the Somaliland community in US/Canada (inc size, distribution, key organisations etc) and key contacts in that community; US/Canadian politicians who may have expressed an interest in Somalia/Somaliland issues.
3. Research on the above questions might look at the following sources: UN reports on Somalia; International Crisis Group (www.crisisgroup.org) reports; recent histories of the Horn of Africa region; recent press analyses (eg Jeune Afrique, Africa Confidential, The Economist); legal analyses of state recognition; analyses of the operation and history of the African Union.
4. Students should not contact representatives (such as the UN Missions) of the African Union, UN or any state with any interest in this question, eg Ethiopia, Somalia, the US, without prior consultation with Carne Ross or another representative of Independent Diplomat. Students should also not speak to journalists or the press about this project,without prior permission from Independent Diplomat.
5. Independent Diplomat will give a short seminar to introduce this project, followed by an updating session half-way through. The output should be a concise, well-researched paper setting out a coherent analysis of this question, covering the questions outlined above. In particular, students should consider creative and imaginative approaches to this issue.
Core Documents
Terms of Reference
Timeline
Final Presentation
Additional Documents
2006 Spring - Independent Diplomat - Somaliland Opportunities for International Recognition.pdf
Navigate: All Spring 2006 practicums