Being and becoming a state: the statebuilding and peacebuilding conversations in southern Somalia and Somaliland
In: Journal of contemporary African studies, Volume 39, Issue 1, p. 1-33
ISSN: 1469-9397
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In: Journal of contemporary African studies, Volume 39, Issue 1, p. 1-33
ISSN: 1469-9397
World Affairs Online
In: Journal of contemporary African studies, Volume 39, Issue 1, p. 1-33
ISSN: 1469-9397
In: Small wars & insurgencies, Volume 31, Issue 2, p. 359-380
ISSN: 1743-9558
In: African affairs: the journal of the Royal African Society, Volume 119, Issue 475, p. 251-274
ISSN: 1468-2621
This article investigates the security sector in Somalia, with a focus on the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA), a government security unit, involved in the fight against the Al-Shabaab insurgency. This article argues that the historically traumatic legacy of autocratic oppression of the former military regime gives the Somali intelligence agency an infamous reputation that survives today and plays a significant role in the operations of the intelligence agency. Intelligence agents employ tactics from the late Cold War era military regime's intelligence services, suggesting striking historical continuities of the military regime in practice and performance. The empirical data also shows that NISA is enmeshed in the 'dirty war' between the federal government and Al-Shabaab. Not only does the intelligence agency normalize extrajudicial activities to serve the agenda of political authorities and to suppress their critics, but it also financially benefits from arrests without trials. NISA agents harass the public and political opposition groups daily and brutally suppress mass media and freedom of speech, especially in the government-controlled areas in Mogadishu. As the first empirical academic investigation into NISA, the article contributes to broader debates on intelligence, the anthropology of the state, security studies, and institution- and state-building in violent environments.
In: African affairs: the journal of the Royal African Society, Volume 119, Issue 475, p. 251-274
ISSN: 0001-9909
World Affairs Online
In: African security review, Volume 29, Issue 2, p. 125-174
ISSN: 2154-0128
World Affairs Online
In: Journal of contemporary African studies, Volume 38, Issue 3, p. 437-458
ISSN: 1469-9397
World Affairs Online
In: Bustan: the Middle East book review, Volume 10, Issue 2, p. 215-223
ISSN: 1878-5328
In: African affairs: the journal of the Royal African Society, Volume 117, Issue 468, p. 539-540
ISSN: 1468-2621
In: Third world quarterly, Volume 39, Issue 11, p. 2033-2052
ISSN: 1360-2241
In: Contemporary security policy, Volume 39, Issue 4, p. 512-536
ISSN: 1743-8764
In: African affairs: the journal of the Royal African Society, Volume 117, Issue 467, p. 217-237
ISSN: 1468-2621
In: Third world quarterly, Volume 39, Issue 11, p. 2033-2052
ISSN: 0143-6597
World Affairs Online
In: African affairs: the journal of the Royal African Society, Volume 117, Issue 467, p. 217-237
ISSN: 0001-9909
World Affairs Online
In: African security, Volume 10, Issue 2, p. 131-154
ISSN: 1939-2214