Public policy without a estate: security policy in Somalia

Abstract

The study of Public Policy is premised upon the assumption that policy is designed and implemented within the confines of a national state. These states are heterogenous and may be of greater or lesser capacity but their very existence anchors public policy debate, design and implementation. As such, this study examines the ramifications for public policy of a collapsed state such as Somalía. Given that the first priority is to restore public order, the security policy choices made by four actors that have intervened in Somalía (the Union of Islamic Courts, Ethiopia, Al-Shabaab and the African Union Mission in Somalía) will be reviewed. These actors have failed to restore comprehensive order to Somalía but their experiences can be discussed so as to glean conclusions about the best way for the recently formed Federal Government of Somalía to establish its authority. Toe review is carried out through a Security Sector Reform (SSR) lens and discusses how these actors attempted to resolve the security policy dilemma; that is, whether to adopt an operational security policy approach or to seek security by way of consensus and political legitimacy.