My first encounter with Somalis was in the early 1990s. What struck me was their hospitality, they were quick to smile and to lend a helping hand should one need it. Somali warmth was indeed legendary. Despite being a stranger in the midst, I was invited as an honoured wedding guest and shared meals with families I was just introduced to. I was appalled, then, when the country descended into a bloody civil war. For the past forty years, South-Central Somalia has been engulfed in violence between clans, an Islamist insurrection in the form of Al-Shabaab and the Machiavellian antics of political elites in Mogadishu whose sole purpose was to ensure that they were as closely positioned to the feeding trough of a failed state.

This spiral to hell and mayhem continued apace whilst the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) kept having its mandate extended. This raises the important question as to why Somalia's northern regions of Puntland and Somaliland have remained relatively unscathed by the violence. It is here where Jude Cocodia in the book goes against the grain of mainstream scholarship on Somalia. Courageously and innovatively, he has provided an alternative explanation to the Somali imbroglio. Erudite and fearlessly, Cocodia notes how both Puntland and Somaliland have made use of indigenous modes of conflict resolution and governance. As these were not deemed alien to their peoples’ values, they resonated with them and allowed them to create relatively stable polities. In the process, both Puntland and Somaliland have challenged the Eurocentric underpinnings of state formation contained in the Westphalian order.

State formation in southern Somalia, sadly did not go this route. Indeed, following the ouster of the dictatorship of Siad Barre, there emerged the Islamic Courts Union (ICU). As practically all Somalis are Muslim, the ICU was formed to prevent inter and intra-clan conflict through Islamic principles. However, Ethiopia, the seat of the African Union, did not want this to occur. Addis Ababa, already occupied a large portion of Somalia, the Ogaden and a united Somalia may well press claims for the return of Ogaden. So, Ethiopia had a vested interest in not seeing a stable and strong Somalia.