42
Within the field of democratization, today’s leading civil society organizations identify diverse
priorities for Somaliland, including the justice system, peace, youth employment, women’s
empowerment and free elections. Some of these issues clearly overlap; for example, youth
employment – given estimates of an estimated 70 percent youth population – is seen as a key to
peace, while women’s empowerment is a vital component of free elections. Civil society’s role
in Somaliland’s successful elections – including civic education, election monitoring and
advocacy toward legislative changes – has received much attention and been widely praised by
the international community. The sector now must transfer its skills to other areas and focus on
other concerns. As a 2010 study suggests:
In the past few years an increasing disconnect between public and national
institutions has seen the space for civil society reduced and leadership become
more autocratic and unaccountable. This has hampered national development in
Somaliland. Hence, there is a need to reverse this trend by creating the
opportunities that will enhance people’s participation in public affairs; build
credible national institutions; and sanction the behavior of those with political or
administrative authority so that they recognize that they are answerable to
citizens.
74
Despite civil society’s predominant role, there has been no systematic study of the sector in
Somaliland; at best, civil society receives a few lines of discussion within the treatment of other
topics, leaving an analytical vacuum in more fully understanding the sector’s breadth and depth.
The tendency to view civil society as implementers of particular programs or conduits for
specific goals has created a stovepipe effect that obscures the ability to see civil society as a
separate sector – rather than an add-on to other sectors – and blurs the development of a
common identity or vision.
A focus on reoccurring international partners based in Hargeisa further inhibits a more diverse
and inclusive perspective, including the role to be played by rural organizations, informal
groups, and faith-based initiatives.
75
The Academy for Peace and Development mapping
exercises on decentralization, for example, have uncovered the difficulty of finding local
organizations who can work on local government affairs. Civil society organizations in eastern
areas of Somaliland may face particular difficulties in their development. These barriers
include limited access to funding, perceptions of security concerns, conflicts over limited
resources, and the migration of human capital to Hargeisa and other areas.
Similarly, a somewhat arbitrary separation between organizations engaged in democratization
issues from those active in service provision risks neglecting that service provision is a key
function of governance, and that the interests of citizens – which civil society organizations
74
Haroon, Yusuf. "Somaliland's Political Culture: Challenges to Democracy."
Somaliland: Facing the Challenges
of Free and Fair Elections
. Hargiesa: Social Research and Development Institute, 2010. 16-21. Print.
75
According to the Academy for Peace and Development: “Many of the existing organizations or bodies outside
the government framework are categorized as community based organizations, Islamic relief organizations and
cooperatives of different kinds. These bodies are engaged in one form of service or another. The Islamic
organizations are engaged in the provision of relief, construction of religious schools and maintenance of mosques.
Local NGOs are mostly involved in developmental issues and relief distribution.”
