Book
Becoming Somaliland (2008) by Mark Bradbury: how Somaliland built a state after 1991
Becoming Somaliland is a 2008 book by Mark Bradbury, published by James Currey and Progressio in the African Issues series. It asks why Somaliland, unlike southern Somalia, did not fall into lasting state collapse after 1991, how its institutions and elections were built, and why it remains without international recognition.
Becoming Somaliland
- Author
- Mark Bradbury
- Year
- 2008
- Publisher
- James Currey and Progressio
- Language
- English
- Sources
- 9 sources
The book
Becoming Somaliland is a book by Mark Bradbury, a researcher who worked on Somali affairs for many years. It was published in 2008 by James Currey (Oxford) with Progressio (London) in the African Issues series, with a US edition from Indiana University Press (Boydell and Brewer; Bulletin of SOAS review record).
What it covers
The book asks why Somaliland, unlike the rest of Somalia, did not slide into lasting state collapse after 1991, and why it still lacks international recognition (Boydell and Brewer). Its chapters move from the Somali people and culture and the rise and fall of the Somali state, to the political foundations of Somaliland, the new Somaliland, state building and a long transition, and end with a chapter on the future and appendices on lineages and clan families (Readings). Reviewers describe the first two chapters as background and the remaining eight as a detailed account of events in Somaliland (LUCAS, University of Leeds).
The publisher highlights Somaliland's relatively free elections of the 2000s and how they challenge the usual image of war and disaster in the region (Boydell and Brewer). Somaliland itself is covered on Somaliland, 1991 to 2026.
How it was received
- It was reviewed in the Journal of Modern African Studies by Markus Hoehne (Cambridge) and in the Bulletin of SOAS (Cambridge).
- Lionel Cliffe, at the University of Leeds, wrote that Bradbury does not romanticise Somaliland or assume its stability will last on its own (LUCAS).
- Some reviewers describe the author as sympathetic to Somaliland's case for independence; a reader review in Somaliland Current disputed parts of the book (Somaliland Current). A reader review on Somaliaonline noted that the fieldwork seemed to end around 2006 (Somaliaonline).
Where to read it
- Lending copy: Internet Archive
- In a library: WorldCat
Related pages
Sources
- Boydell and Brewer · boydellandbrewer.com
- Bulletin of SOAS review record · core-cms.cambridgecore.org
- Readings · readings.com.au
- LUCAS, University of Leeds · lucas.leeds.ac.uk
- Cambridge · cambridge.org
- Somaliland Current · somalilandcurrent.com
- Somaliaonline · somaliaonline.com
- Internet Archive · archive.org
- WorldCat · search.worldcat.org
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Where this matters
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Same era
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- DjiboutiAbout 13,900 refugees from Somalia live in Djibouti (Aug 2026): numbers since 1990, Ali Addeh, Holl-Holl, the 2017 refugee law, Arta 2000 and 2025 returns.
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