Opinion

Introduction Somalia is grappling with political and constitutional crises of monumental proportions that is threatening institutional collapse. The constitutional review process has ground to a halt as political squabbles continue to dog the federal system that has become inherently dysfunctional. With just over a year left before the expiration of the mandates of the current Federal Government, and Parliament, Somalia remains at a crossroads due to a paralysis in governance as violent conflicts rage across the country. According to Amanda Frost, a Law Professor at the University of Virginia, a constitutional crisis occurs “when one branch of government, usually the executive, “blatantly, flagrantly and regularly exceeds its constitutional authority — and the other branches are either unable or unwilling to stop it. ¹” The crisis in governance is compounded by the deteriorating security situation and lack of a negotiated settlement that can deliver Somalia from ongoing political doldrums, anarchy and lawlessness.  Conceptual Analyses To better understand Somalia’s ongoing quagmire, presenting in-depth conceptual analyses of the unresolved constitutional crisis can shed light on the current impasse. Relevant theoretical frameworks include the constitutional theory, conflict theory and negotiation theory. Constitutional Theory German Philosopher Emmanuel Kant, is credited with formulating ideas that laid the foundation of the constitutional theory of the twentieth century. A distinctive feature of the Kantian theory is the emphasis on the supremacy of a country’s written constitution arguing that the exercise of government power must be constrained by the law and guided by a social contract as a regulative matter². This doctrine further posits that the “power of the state must be limited in order to protect the citizens from the arbitrary exercise of authority. While the theory supports the ideals for building a universal and permanent peaceful life, its basic premise underlines the necessity for the creation of the most just and fair organization of people’s life under the aegis of the law.” ³ __________________________________________________________________________________________________ ¹ NPR: https://www.npr.org/2025/02/11/1230674436/are-we-in-a-constitutional-crisis ² Immanuel Kant, History of Political Philosophy, edited by Leo Strauss and Joseph Cropsey, University of Chicago Press, Chicago and London, 1987 ³ ibid Based on the above theory, Somalia’s constitutional crisis will remain unresolved unless the recurrent abuse of power by the Executive as well as attempts to mutilate and manipulate the constitution to suit particular political interests at the expense of the national agenda is checked and the necessary safeguards put in place to protect the country’s constitutional gains.  As per the constitutional theory, “the necessity for the creation of the most just and fair organization of people’s life under the aegis of the law” is inherently lacking in Somalia while the quest to build a universal and permanent peaceful life is undermined by Villa Somalia’s rule by decree virtually usurping the powers of the judiciary and legislature and undercutting the independence of the public bureaucracy. The ruling class and all concerned stakeholders must uphold the doctrine of the supremacy of the constitution as the fundamental and paramount law of the land to which the country shall duly be governed. Under this doctrine, if a newly enacted law or contract violates any provisions in the constitution whether in part or whole and whether promulgated by legislative or executive powers, such an enactment shall be deemed as null and void and without any effect or force. Constitutional actors and office holders must adhere to and advance the principles and practices that underpin the constitutional order while conforming to established norms for resolving contested constitutional matters. Conflict Theory Somalia is a country embroiled in a protracted conflict that has overtime, unleashed the dark forces of clannism, warlordism, terrorism and state violence. At the conceptual level, conflict theories assume that all societies have structural power divisions and resource inequalities that lead to groups having conflicting interests. While Karl Marx emphasized class conflict (the bourgeoisie vs. proletariat) over economic resources, Max Weber suggested that conflict and inequality can be caused by power and status independently of class structures. ⁴ The Marxist definition technically applies to industrialized countries where society is organized along two major classes, the bourgeoisie, erstwhile regarded as the owners of means of production and the proletariat, the exploited working class whose labour is the primary source of capital accumulation, wealth and profit for the ruling class. Some conflict analysts argue that the Weberian premise that explores factors beyond class can better explain the myriads of conflicts in non-industrialized countries, Somalia included. Scholars like Alex De Waal have rejected the notion that Somalia has fractured along clan lines, because of the inherent incapacity of the clan system of politics to provide the basis for a modern state. De Waal argues that even in a country without a functioning government and formal economy, control over productive resources and the means of trade are the core to the political economy⁵. __________________________________________________________________________________________ ⁴ What is Conflict Theory: https://www.simplypsychology.org/conflict-theory.html He highlights the nature of the resource-driven Somali conflict that is rooted in riverine agricultural land, pastureland, remittances from overseas workers and the resources that can be captured and dispensed by a sovereign state, including foreign aid and currency (“sovereign rents”). Further, De Waal has developed a class analysis of the origins and development of the crisis, locating it in “the growth of state-mediated capitalist relations in both agriculture and pastoralism, and the key role that control of the state apparatus played in allowing capital accumulation among certain sections of the mercantile class in the 1980’s⁶.” More importantly, De Waal points to the “legacy of disputed ownership of real estate and agricultural land as one key element in the enduring crisis”, adding “the expectation that a future government will be able to bestow the same benefits on its favoured businessmen is a key element in sharpening the ongoing struggle in southern Somalia.⁷” In finding a lasting resolution, both the class and clan dynamics of the Somali conflict as well as the rent seeking by state and private sector actors must be addressed. As a step forward, peacebuilders and mediators need to acknowledge the often