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Mohamed Obsiye (mobsiye78@hotmail.com)

This issue contains two articles:

A brief history of the “Somali Union”: what is the way forward
The central concern of this article is that the Union of Somalia was founded on the false dream of Greater-Somalism based on language, race, culture and religion criteria. It argues that the Somali Union simply existed, not because of intrinsic values of its nationhood, but because of its ‘Cold War Client’ status. The article raises serious questions about whether there was a nation-state in Somalia in the first place, and considers how the unswerving search for Greater-Somalism masked Somalia’s vulnerability as a nation-state.

The Changing Political Landscape in the Horn of Africa
It appears that the international community is now beginning to realise, in the best interest of world security, the political developments in the Horn of Africa should be accepted on their merits. That means that if in the past the international community has fallen for the de jure status of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG), it is now paying attention to the de facto developments in the region and with restoring Somali unity dream becoming virtually unobtainable, the international community is recognising Somaliland for its achievement in the areas of democracy, peace and stability.