The political crisis in Somalia and the rise of Islamic groups in the region

Somalia went through a political crisis that broke out in 1991 that led to the central government collapse and a partition of the country between clans thus resulting in factional violence, and acute displacement of ethnic and religious groups. Since each clan wanted political power, the country inevitably encountered a long civil war thus countries in Europe and the United States of America which have conducted peacekeeping operations, sent peacekeepers to stabilize the country due to the ongoing humanitarian and refugee crises. Throughout the 1990s the United Nations had a hard time finding a governmental interlocutor as each clan sought a governmental stake, until 2000 when the 4.5 system was introduced to divide power among the various clans. This was the result of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development an organization comprised of East African countries and traditional elders in Somalia who saw the power-sharing arrangement as a way to overcome the obstacles to reaching a comprehensive agreement. Nevertheless, the emergence of the extremist organization Al-Shabaab posed a great threat to the stability of the country as the organization had ties with the infamous terrorist group Al-Qaeda thus beginning the never-ending war between the government and the extremist group in the battle for supremacy. This thesis aims at discussing Somalia's political crises due to the collapse of the state with its relation to the Islamic Groups and their impact on politics. The first chapter draws a conceptual framework around governmental crisis and state-building. The second chapter deals with the historical background of the governmental crisis that broke out in 1991, the civil strife that engulfed the country, and the impact the collapse of the central government had on society. The third and fourth chapters will elaborate on the rationale for collapsed states, the rise of Islamist groups, and, their political impact on the country. The thesis will argue that government crises in Somalia have had an impact on the rise of terrorism. This can be observed through the case of Al-Shabaab which coincides with the rise of extremism and is backed up by fundamental Islamist ideology. Keywords: State-building, failed states, Extremism, Religion, Al-Shabaab, Somalia, terrorist