New Dr.: Mohamed Ali Guyo
Josie Teurlings
Mohamed Guyo
Photo: Evy Jørgensen
In recent times, Islamism has been emerging as a powerful and visible element in politics and security. However, the processes through which Islamists have attained this status remain blurred for three reasons. Firstly, the underlying understanding of the motivation of Islamism is more often than not wrought with generalities. Secondly, there has been extensive focus on contemporary dimensions of Islamism, ignoring its antecedents in earlier eras. Thirdly, the geopolitics of the Global War on Terror (GWOT) has masked the motivation behind the securitisation of Islamism. To address these lacunae, this thesis explores the evolution and securitisation of Islamism in Somalia.
The general finding of the study is that Islamism in Somalia has emerged from the fringes of Somali politics to the acclaimed position of a national political actor. The historical and contemporary dynamics in the Islamisation of the state and society in Somalia are substantial and evolving. Islamism has benefited from the fact that Islam is a key organising principle of Somali society and has played a prominent role in times of crisis. The physical proximity of Somalia to the Arabian Peninsula has greatly enhanced Islamic literacy. Further, the unprecedented local-global inter-linkages, religiously-framed geopolitical dynamics, enhanced communication networks, and increased human mobility have significantly assisted in the diffusion of Islamism. In spite of the presence of favourable ingredients for its entrenchment, Islamism has, however, continuously faced challenges from the competing hegemony of deep-rooted clanism, Sufism, and elitist control of the state.
The enhanced contemporary visibility of Islamism has been greatly leveraged by the waning influence of Somali state and lineage politics. The net effect is that different forms of Islamic oriented political movements have dominated the terrain of the dismembered state of Somalia in recent times. In the course of state-society transition in Somalia, Islamists have performed multifaceted roles including reform, revolution and resistance. The basic call by the Islamists is the enforcement of Shari’a (Islamic Law). The main continuity with the past is that in spite of the manifestations of pan-Islamic postures, the role of the clan in politics has not completely disappeared.
The thesis further demonstrates that Islamism in Somalia is entangled in a local, regional and global security triangle. The aspiration of Islamists to create an Islamic state is not in tandem with the interests of local, regional and global actors. The securitisation of Islamism is driven by networks and interests of actors whose alliances are mostly opportunistic in nature. State and non-state actors have utilised the threats of terrorism to propagate a state-centric security paradigm. Consequently, the drive for international peace and security through the GWOT has engendered an intensification of human insecurity. This state of affairs shows that the war on terror in Somalia is not about terrorism per se, but rather about how state and non-state actors manipulate the situation to advance their vested local and geopolitical interests. As a result, politics and security in the Horn of Africa and in Somalia in particular, are constructed on a foundation of ‘shifting sands’.
Supervisors:
Prof. N. Shanmugaratnam, Noragric, UMB
Evaluation committee:
Dr. Cedric Barnes, Dept. of History, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London
Dr. Terje Østebø, Center for African Studies, University of Florida
Dr. Randi Kaarhus, Noragric, UMB
The title of his trial lecture was: "Speech-act theory in analysing conflicts: Methodological implications for the use of sources on present-day Somalia"
For more information contact: Mohamed Ali Guyo at mohamed.guyo(@)umb.no
Updated: 10.12.10
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Del med en venn:
Department of International Environment and Development Studies
- Noragric
Phone: +47 64 96 52 00
Fax: +47 64 96 52 01
E-mail: noragric@umb.no
Postal address:
Noragric, Norwegian University of Life Sciences
P.O. Box 5003
NO-1432 Aas
Norway
Visiting/delivery address:
Universitetstunet 1 (Tivoli)
NO-1432 Ås
Phone: +47 64 96 52 00
Fax: +47 64 96 52 01
E-mail: noragric@umb.no
Postal address:
Noragric, Norwegian University of Life Sciences
P.O. Box 5003
NO-1432 Aas
Norway
Visiting/delivery address:
Universitetstunet 1 (Tivoli)
NO-1432 Ås