Violent Politics and the Politics of Violence: The Dissolution of the Somali Nation-state
Author(s)
Besteman, Catherine
Abstract
Somalia was one of the first states to crumble in the post-cold war era. This article undresses the image of Somalia as the one true nation-state in Africa, arguing that the political economy of class and regional dynamics underscored the dissolution of the Somali nation-state and that the cultural construction of racial stratification configured the patterning of violence. Explaining Somalia’s dissolution is a contribution to the anthropological project of theorizing the global disintegration of nation-states.
