Rated the worst of the worst among failed states, Somalia tops the annual Failed States Index for the third consecutive year.
Out of 177 countries indexed by Foreign Policy Magazine and The Fund for Peace published on Monday, Somalia was given the highest score on 12 indicators including delegitimization of the state, security apparatus, and factionalized elites.
The past half-century has seen a continuous saga of disaster played out in Somalia.
The eastern horn of Africa officially became the independent Democratic Republic of Somalia, by shaking off Italian and British colonial rule, in 1960.
In 1963, Somalia signed a military aid agreement with the Soviet Union and six years later Somalia’s longest standing president and military dictator Muhammad Siad Barre came to power in a military coup after the assassination of then President Abdi Rashid Ali Shermarke.
Siad Barre proclaimed Somalia a socialist state a year after gaining control. He then began nationalizing the country. He ruled based on his own version of “scientific socialism” that promoted self-reliance, modeled somewhat after China, the Soviet Union, and elements of the Quran.
In 1977, Somalia invaded the Ogaden region of Ethiopia and was defeated a year later after Soviet forces sided with Ethiopia. At this time, Somalia began drawing on support from the United States and in 1980, signed an agreement allowing American military access to several Somalia ports.
While in theory Siad Barre’s socialist ideology intended to minimize the divide among Somalia’s different ethnic clans, his regime met with strong opposition from marginalized Mijertyn and Isaq starting in 1981.
The human rights abuses from Barre’s harsh dealing with clan opposition drew criticism from the international community, and in 1989, the United States cut off military aid to the country.
By 1990, it was clear that Siad Barre was losing control of the country. He fled in 1991 leaving Somalia in chaos without centralized leadership. Several regions of the country formed their own governments, but the country has been in deep turmoil, and essentially lawless, ever since.
In 2000, neighboring countries helped Somalia form a Transitional National Government (TNG) in an effort to bring stability.
Between 2006 and 2009, ongoing conflict between the TFG backed by Ethiopian forces, and opposing armed militias had led to a severe deterioration in humanitarian conditions.
The internal displacement monitoring center estimates that 1.3 million of Somalia’s 9.1 million were displaced last year.
Many of the displaced live in camps with erratic food distribution, poor sanitation, and a lack of basic health care, according to a report by Doctors Without Borders (MSF). In a 2009 report, MSF described the situation in Somalia as a “humanitarian catastrophe” and said that it is extremely difficult to provide relief, due in part to the clash of political and aid agendas, which have left certain clan leaders suspicious of foreign aid, leading to attacks on aid workers.
Piracy off the Somali coast has also become the scourge of international shipping in the region. According to the International Maritime Organization, in the first quarter of 2008, there were 11 piracy attacks off the coast of Somalia. Today, despite extensive efforts to patrol the waters, barely a day goes by without a piracy incident with ransom demands continuing to escalate into the multimillions.
Among the other top failed states are Zimbabwe (2), Sudan (3), Iraq (6), Pakistan (10) and Haiti (12).
Out of 177 countries indexed by Foreign Policy Magazine and The Fund for Peace published on Monday, Somalia was given the highest score on 12 indicators including delegitimization of the state, security apparatus, and factionalized elites.
The past half-century has seen a continuous saga of disaster played out in Somalia.
The eastern horn of Africa officially became the independent Democratic Republic of Somalia, by shaking off Italian and British colonial rule, in 1960.
In 1963, Somalia signed a military aid agreement with the Soviet Union and six years later Somalia’s longest standing president and military dictator Muhammad Siad Barre came to power in a military coup after the assassination of then President Abdi Rashid Ali Shermarke.
Siad Barre proclaimed Somalia a socialist state a year after gaining control. He then began nationalizing the country. He ruled based on his own version of “scientific socialism” that promoted self-reliance, modeled somewhat after China, the Soviet Union, and elements of the Quran.
In 1977, Somalia invaded the Ogaden region of Ethiopia and was defeated a year later after Soviet forces sided with Ethiopia. At this time, Somalia began drawing on support from the United States and in 1980, signed an agreement allowing American military access to several Somalia ports.
While in theory Siad Barre’s socialist ideology intended to minimize the divide among Somalia’s different ethnic clans, his regime met with strong opposition from marginalized Mijertyn and Isaq starting in 1981.
The human rights abuses from Barre’s harsh dealing with clan opposition drew criticism from the international community, and in 1989, the United States cut off military aid to the country.
By 1990, it was clear that Siad Barre was losing control of the country. He fled in 1991 leaving Somalia in chaos without centralized leadership. Several regions of the country formed their own governments, but the country has been in deep turmoil, and essentially lawless, ever since.
In 2000, neighboring countries helped Somalia form a Transitional National Government (TNG) in an effort to bring stability.
Between 2006 and 2009, ongoing conflict between the TFG backed by Ethiopian forces, and opposing armed militias had led to a severe deterioration in humanitarian conditions.
The internal displacement monitoring center estimates that 1.3 million of Somalia’s 9.1 million were displaced last year.
Many of the displaced live in camps with erratic food distribution, poor sanitation, and a lack of basic health care, according to a report by Doctors Without Borders (MSF). In a 2009 report, MSF described the situation in Somalia as a “humanitarian catastrophe” and said that it is extremely difficult to provide relief, due in part to the clash of political and aid agendas, which have left certain clan leaders suspicious of foreign aid, leading to attacks on aid workers.
Piracy off the Somali coast has also become the scourge of international shipping in the region. According to the International Maritime Organization, in the first quarter of 2008, there were 11 piracy attacks off the coast of Somalia. Today, despite extensive efforts to patrol the waters, barely a day goes by without a piracy incident with ransom demands continuing to escalate into the multimillions.
Among the other top failed states are Zimbabwe (2), Sudan (3), Iraq (6), Pakistan (10) and Haiti (12).