Daniel Lino Cristiano Bachelor of Science Computer Information Technology Angola |
Lufutu Calemba Mida Master of Business and Economics Marketing Angola |
Sonja Kickmaier Doctor of Science Social Change Austria |
Edward Shamu Bachelor of Education Secondary Education Botswana |
Patson Simeon Metcalf Kuntambila Doctor of Philosophy Business Management Botswana |
Cristián Pizarro Allard Bachelor of Arts Political Science Chile |
Jose Henry Duarte Caceres Master of Science Comp uter Science Colombia |
Roberto C. Lluveres Gautreaux Doctor of Management Hotel and Tourism Management Dominican Republic |
Ricardo Espejo Pena Bachelor of Science Electrical Engineering Dominican Republic |
Santo Mateo Bachelor of Science Electrical Engineering Dominican Republic |
Pedro Alberto Suárez Polanco Bachelor of Business and Economics Finance and Strategic Management Dominican Republic |
Paulina del Pilar Correa Hernández Bachelor of Administration Business Administration Ecuador |
Robinson Paúl Moreno Alvarado Bachelor of Science Architecture Ecuador |
Armando Ela Nsue Mengue Master of International Legal Studies Family Legal Studies Equatorial Guinea |
Pablo Olo Nsuga Master of Legal Studies Legal Studies Equatorial Guinea |
Kenneth Kwadwo Obeng Doctor of Business Administration Accounting Ghana |
Gamor Eric Wise Bachelor of Science Information Technology Ghana |
Kormla Atafi - Drulu Doctor of Business Administration Accounting and Auditing Ghana |
Michael Quaique Doctor of Philosophy Business Administration Ghana |
Edgar Mauricio Quintana Arriola Bachelor of Education Education Guatemala Kuwa |
Timothy Kamau Mwangi Master of Business Administration International Business Kenya |
Francis Verye Doctor of Philosophy Educational Administration and Management Kenya |
Jonathan Daniel Geyer Bachelor of Education Mathematics Kuwait |
Francis T. Sam Master of Business Economics Supp ly Chain Management Liberia |
Ishmael Lee Kweyete, Sr. Bachelor of Science Comp uter Science Liberia |
Zuze Rodrick Fredrick Joaki Master of Social Sciences International Developm ent Studies Malawi |
Rafael Maria Villamor Rocha Doctor of Philosophy International Relations Mexico |
Dodo Suwaiba Umar Doctor of Philosophy English Education Nigeria |
Nouhou Amadou Seini Master of Science Renewable Energy Nigeria |
Donn Bryan A. Julian Bachelor of Science Business Management Philippines |
Abdirizak Osman Hussein Master of Science Public Health Somalia |
Meekaeel Barnabas Bachelor of Science Nutrition Science South Africa |
Madoda Elliot Jele Doctor of Healthcare Management Healthcare Management Swaziland |
Gustl Betita Pido Doctor of Philosophy Physical Education, Health & Sport Science Taiwan |
Gökhan Günay Bachelor of Science Mechanical Engineering Turkey |
Cem Kazancıoğlu Bachelor of Science Electronics and Comm unications Engineering Turkey |
Haidar Haj Najib Master of Business Administration Business Administration UAE |
Inés Benigna Pérez Torres White Doctor of Education Education USA |
Stephvanie Diane Wynn Doctor of Philosophy Industrial Organizational Psychology USA |
Joaquin Alvarez Montero Bachelor of Science Concrete Construction Quality USA |
Gisela del Carmen Muñoz Caballero Doctor of Education English Education USA |
Moses Luhanga Bachelor of Business Administration Accounting Zambia |
Cornelius Nkaka Doctor of Science Supp ly Chain Management Zambia |
|||||
Introduction
The socio-politics of Somalia
is a very wide topic but this
paper will focus mainly on
the political and social history
since the beginning of Somali
government. Politics and social
life of Somali people always go
together and there is a linkage
between them.
The Political Context
In 1960, British and Italian
parts of Somalia merged, ending
colonial administration and
becoming independent as the
Somali Republic. Aden Abdullah
Osman Daar was elected
first president, succeeded in
1967 by Abdi Rashid Ali Shermarke.
Following Shermarke’s
assassination, Muhammad
Siad Barre assumed power in a
coup in 1969, declaring Somalia
a socialist state and nationalizing
most of the economy.
The 20 years of Barre’s rule
were characterized by an aggressive
foreign policy with
continuous attempts to overtake
areas inhabited by ethnic Somalis in Kenya, Djibouti and
Ethiopia. Internally, Barre practiced
a dictatorial rule, allegedly
committing systematic human
rights abuses. In the beginning
of the 1980s, opposition to Barre
began to form alongside growing
influence of warring clans
on the country side, ultimately
leading to his demise in 1991.
The country plunged into civil
war among feuding clans and
their militias, aggravated by a
dire economic situation.
Up until this day, Somalia is
splintered into regional blocks
along the lines of major clans,
although the population in the
respective areas is largely a mix
of different clans. Somalia’s
political organization is clanbased,
inciting a strong sense
of collective identity and mutual
obligation. Clan identity
provides the basis for customary
law (xeer), which forms an
essential source of physical
and legal security alongside
complex systems of obligation
based on lineage. These social
mechanisms have provided
protection in the absence of
a Somali state and therefore
are paramount to the political
landscape.
Regions have evolved differently
since the collapse of
Barre’s regime and have faced
disparate levels of instability,
underdevelopment and
bad governance. While state
structures broke down in
the south-central region, the
north-western part of Somalia
unilaterally declared its
independence as Republic of Somaliland in 1991. In 1998,
Puntland declared itself an
autonomous state. Somaliland
and Puntland have gradually
been able to re-establish
relative peace and stability
in their areas of control and
have operated autonomously
from the federal government.
However, the presence of the
Islamist militant group Al-
Shabaab and the emergence of
an Islamic State (ISIL) Faction
have recently destabilized
Puntland, with ISIL being
able to briefly seize control
over parts of Puntland’s Gulf
of Aden coastline in October
2016. Furthermore, borders
between Somalia’s Federal
States remain contested as
minority clans voice grievances
over local power-sharing arrangements.
This has repeatedly
led to violent clashes, for
example between the Galmudug
Interim Administration (a
Federal Member State bordering
Puntland in the South) and
Puntland, because frameworks
for the peaceful settlement of
disputes between federal states
are missing.
Al-Shabaab’s presence across
Somali territory remains the
primary security challenge for
the country, hindering access
for humanitarian actors
to the population struck by
famine. Somali clans are too
fragmented to organize opposition
although Al-Shabaab has
weakened in recent months,
among other reasons due to
continued air strikes and the
killing of key figures. The group
has also launched cross-border
attacks into Kenya, inciting the
Kenyan government to build a
wire fence along its border with
Somalia. Moreover, the longstanding
absence of authority
in the country led Somali pirates
to become a major threat
to international shipping in the
area and prompted NATO to
take the lead in an anti-piracy
operation. While international
efforts had significantly
reduced attacks since 2012,
the number of incidents has
again increased sharply since
early 2017. This is most likely
due to the fragile situation in
Puntland and Galmudug. Both
states have been struggling
to fight local Islamist militias
whilst suffering from a devastating
drought. Governance
issues aggravate the situation:
Galmudug was without
a president until May 2017,
and Puntland authorities are
continuously struggling to pay
their security forces.
Multiple attempts at peace
processes, and local and
international efforts aimed at
building a stable government
have been unsuccessful for
many years. The presence of
the United Nations Assistance
Mission in Somalia (UNSOM, in
its current form established in 2013), now including the United
Nations Political Office for
Somalia (UNPOS), is currently
complemented by the African
Union Mission to Somalia
(AMISOM). AMISOM, created
by the African Union Peace
and Security Council in 2007,
is supported logistically by the
UN Support Office in Somalia
(UNSOS). Although weakened
in the face of Ethiopia’s recent
withdrawal of troops from
AMISOM over an alleged lack
of funding, the mission is envisioning
complete withdrawal
from Somalia by 2020.
During 2011 and 2012, important
steps were taken in the
process of ending Somalia’s socalled
transition period. During
this time, despite a number of
violent clashes, governance
arrangements
agreed in a Transitional
Federal
Charter in 2004
were implemented.
In August 2012, the
Transitional Federal
Government
(TFG) handed over
affairs to Somalia’s
first elected and
internationally
recognized central
government,
the Somali Federal
Government
(SFG). From 2012
to 2017, under the presidency
of President Hassan Sheikh
Mohamud, the country saw
efforts to advance the building
of a federal state. A Provisional
Federal Constitution of
Somalia was agreed upon in
2012, following a consultative
process including different sectors
of society, clan leadership
and regional administrations.
While this seemed to be the
first window of opportunity for
a real peace process in the past
20 years, progress was slow under
President Hassan Sheikh
Mohamud, whose government
was plagued by political paralysis,
clannism and corruption.
The most recent elections
of February 2017 have brought
President Mohamed Abdullahi
‘Farmajo’ Mohamed into
office, who enjoys cross-clan
support. The new parliament
is the youngest and most
demographically diverse of
Somalia’s history, with half
of the 283 members younger
than 50, and 63 female parliamentarians
(roughly 22%
of parliament). While positive
change may be possible
on these grounds, Farmajo’s
room for maneuver is yet to be
determined. The current Provisional
Constitution is due to
undergo a process of revision
in 2017, to which regional
administrations, the National
Federal Parliament and civil
society will be associated. The
new Federal Constitution is
supposed to set a framework
for the national elections in
2020. To be continued
In many countries we just
have started a new cycle according
to how human beings
have divided our stay in this
universe. Other countries also
have a cycle start but they do
so at different times. Those
cycles are the so-called years.
The beginning of this
calendar means for many
human beings the revision of
their lives. What have I done?
What do I need to do better?
What do I need to change? All
these questions mean “making
resolutions” for the new year
that begins.
With the “purposes of life”
something special happens: I
forget what I did last year and
I make a new list, which looks
very interesting, but probably
will have the same fate as last
year: one month and I had
already forgotten the intentions
I had written with so much interest. Why does this
happen to us?
It happens to us that we
forget our “purposes” because
they were made to look nice
but not to help us grow as human
beings.
Who are we human beings?
There is a very interesting
definition that includes the
major aspects that define the
human being.
“In reality, the human being
is a whole” physical-chemicalbiological-
psychologicalsocial-
cultural-ethical-moralspiritual,
“which has its own,
independent and free existence.”
(Martínez Miguélez,
1999, p.87)
If, as human beings, we are
what the above definition
says, then my “purposes” must
be to improve some of the
mentioned aspects.
The first thing I have to do is
a step-by-step analysis of each
of the elements mentioned in
the definition and questioning
how well I am or want to be in
that line.
I am a physical-chemicalbiological
being: my body, how
I take care of it so that these
functions are at an excellent
level. Do I eat well? Do I eat
the necessary foods? Do I
practice a sport?
If not, that’s where my “purposes”
should begin.
Eating well doesn’t mean
eating expensive foods, eating
well means: eating fruits,
vegetables, meats or fish, dairy
products, if you don’t have
digestive problems with them,
and drink at least 6 glasses of
water a day.
About the sports you can
ask yourself: Is it necessary to
go to a gym? You can practice
the less expensive sport which
is walk.
Now we go to the psychological-
social-cultural aspect:
here comes the way I feel
about myself and how I relate
to others. Also culturally what
I’m doing to better understand
the world in which I live.
Psychologically, factors such
as the education I received
or the social group in which I
grew up can enter. That may
have happened but in us is
changing what of social heritage
we had because at this
time we must know what is
good and what isn’t for a life at
peace myself.
The psychological aspect is
linked to my type of temperament
and character. The temperament
depends on what
I want to do; the character is
biological inheritance.
The psychological is linked
to the cultural. Culturally, I
must know how the world is
going around know where I am.
Here I must inform myself,
know what science is doing,
what technology is doing to
choose what allows me to live
in peace.
How long have I not read an
article about what is done in
science?
How long have I not
done a course to enrich my
knowledge?
How long ago did I stop
studying because I thought I
already knew everything?
To do “purposes” that allow
me to be happy I have to see:
what I can honestly do to grow
in understanding with others
and in my understanding of what society is and culture are.
The ethical-moral-spiritual
aspect: I have started thinking
that if I want things to be done
well I have to teach others
with my actions.
In the spiritual you can or
can’t profess a religion: if you
profess to practice it with the
facts. If you don’t profess it,
you can’t have religion and be
an excellent person who acts
without harming others.
With the clarity: who you
are as a human being, now
you take a sheet, a notebook,
your computer and write the
“purposes” that your life will
have for this new cycle that
we are beginning.
Don’t make an endless list. It
is better to make a list of what
is necessary at this time and
from time to time review how
I go in my “purposes” of the
beginning of the year.
You can live the life you
want or you can drift from
what others do to you.
Which way
do you want?
In which path
do you have strength?
We can be
what we want!
We can be
what others want!
What do you want
to be?
BIBLIOGRAPHY. Martínez Miguélez, M. (1999). La nueva ciencia
/ su desafío, lógica y método. México: Trillas.
When you study, how often does a friend
call you or text you on the phone? How
often are you interrupted by another person
or situation?
Think about this… A study researched distractions.
The study found that when a worker
is distracted, it takes the worker on average 25
minutes to return to what they were working
on. This also applies to a student studying.
During that 25 minutes a lot of work could
have been accomplished. So, if you can minimize
distractions while you study, you will
be more productive. You will complete your
assignments faster and better.
Here are some things that you can do to
minimize distractions.
• Turn off your phone while you study.
• Turn off Twitter and other social media.
• Ask someone else to help you by handling
situations that arise.
• Talk with your family and ask them to give
you time and space to study.
• Study in a room where you can close the door.
Studying is a time of concentration during
which your mind is developing and accumulating
knowledge. If your concentration is
distracted, in order to continue reading, you
need to re-read the last paragraph or two to
reconnect with what you were reading. This is
will help you get back on track.
In addition, studying without distractions
is more enjoyable. You feel more productive.
Your mind understands more clearly. You
write your essays more fluidly.
May you study in peace!