When is a nation not a nation? Somaliland’s dream of independence (2018)
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Re: When is a nation not a nation? Somaliland’s dream of independence (2018)
#2found on marginal revolution: https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/31/opinion/31iht-edmyers.1.1...
an opinion piece by Pete Butigieg on Somaliland from 2008. Gives you an interesting perspective on his past experiences and foreign policy stance. (Also is a bit shorter than the guardian article but still gets the point across about Somaliland)
My take on the situation: when you're a small country you're just a pawn for the bigger countries around you, including the world powers.
Re: When is a nation not a nation? Somaliland’s dream of independence (2018)
#3Somaliland should rebrand. Without renaming themselves they will forever fight an uphill battle to distinguish themselves as something other than (at best) a Somali provincial region.
Other than that, a great example is to follow the modern Taiwanese strategy to be a liberal democracy and a beacon of human rights, and develop powerful allies needed to maintain territorial integrity. Honestly, I would highly recommend hosting military bases for the US and other NATO allies. This is (part) of the strategy of the neighboring nation of Djibouti. The Gulf of Aden is geopolitically fraught and teaming with pirates, so there's room for plenty more military bases.
Re: When is a nation not a nation? Somaliland’s dream of independence (2018)
#4Somaliland should rebrand. Without renaming themselves they will forever fight an uphill battle to distinguish themselves as something other than (at best) a Somali provincial region. Other than that, a great example is to follow the modern Taiwanese strategy to be a liberal democracy and a beacon of human rights, and develop powerful allies needed to maintain territorial integrity. Honestly, I would highly recommend…
You mean like South Sudan did?
I shouldn't need to point out why such renaming would be difficult and controversial.
Re: When is a nation not a nation? Somaliland’s dream of independence (2018)
#5Somaliland should rebrand. Without renaming themselves they will forever fight an uphill battle to distinguish themselves as something other than (at best) a Somali provincial region. Other than that, a great example is to follow the modern Taiwanese strategy to be a liberal democracy and a beacon of human rights, and develop powerful allies needed to maintain territorial integrity. Honestly, I would highly recommend…
Is it too late to do New England?
Re: When is a nation not a nation? Somaliland’s dream of independence (2018)
#6I know from personal experience, being from a small country created by the war in the early 1990s, that the international community is very slow in this kind of thing. And if you're not making a lot of concessions in the state-making process,
you simply remain unrecognized. Even if you have no natural resources, the situation is worse.
Re: When is a nation not a nation? Somaliland’s dream of independence (2018)
#7found on marginal revolution: https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/31/opinion/31iht-edmyers.1.1... an opinion piece by Pete Butigieg on Somaliland from 2008. Gives you an interesting perspective on his past experiences and foreign policy stance. (Also is a bit shorter than the guardian article but still gets the point across about Somaliland) My take on the situation: when you're a small country you're just a pawn for the…
From the article :
>"Every member of Parliament in Mogadishu gets a salary paid mostly by U.S. and EU funds," one Somaliland official told us. "And every one of them is a killer. If you kill enough people, you are called a warlord and you get invited to conferences. Meanwhile, I was elected by thousands of votes in a free election, but the international community does not consider us a country. They should be rewarding democracy, not killing."
That's sadly the truth in some of our African states.
Re: When is a nation not a nation? Somaliland’s dream of independence (2018)
#8For those planning a trip there, Wikivoyage has good information, as usual:
Re: When is a nation not a nation? Somaliland’s dream of independence (2018)
#9I know from personal experience, being from a small country created by the war in the early 1990s, that the international community is very slow in this kind of thing. And if you're not making a lot of concessions in the state-making process, you simply remain unrecognized. Even if you have no natural resources, the situation is worse.
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Re: When is a nation not a nation? Somaliland’s dream of independence (2018)
#10I don't know, but I wish they would all head back and give it a go.