Somalia: dysfunctional Arab statehood anchored in complicit leadership

It is difficult to determine if President Abdullahi Yusuf, assorted clan leaders, or the Union of Islamic Courts is most to blame for the current state of affairs. One thing is clear, though: Somalia does not function well as an independent state, and has not done so for decades. It is only the latest example of a string of Arab countries that have collapsed into shattered sovereignties and active domestic warfare, because they allowed their local feuds to converge with regional and global power contests. The end of the Cold War slowed down this process around the world - except for the Arab world, for some bizarre, cruel reason. A new factor in the region is the assertion of non-Arab neighboring powers who flex their political muscles or send in their troops, whether to protect their national interests or to serve the interests of faraway global powers. Iran is one example at the eastern edge of the Arab region, and Ethiopia plays this role today in Somalia. Turkey is involved in issues in its Arab neighboring areas, as is Israel here and there.

All the tense or actively violent situations that emanate from such dynamics reflect a combination of local, regional and global tensions, but these require Arab leaders who are willing to play this ugly game. Leaders of states, tribes or militias who go down this route doom their countries to perpetual strife, certain poverty and ultimate marginalization. The fact that so many Arab leaders opt for this sort of mediocrity and criminality is a homegrown Arab problem that regional and foreign powers aggravate, but do not create.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=1&article_id=81614&categ_id=17