Introduction On 27 May 2023, Somalia’s National Consultative Council (NCC) agreed on elections at both a federal and state level.1 Unified local council elections were envisaged to start at district-level elections across all Federal Member States (FMSs) in June…
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY With Somalia’s official entry into the East African Community (EAC) on 24 November 2023, this paper intends to present and analyse the challenges and opportunities its integration might have. Thus, the study uses primary data collected from…
Executive summary This policy paper assesses the revised National Security Architecture (NSArch) in Somalia, pinpointing critical deficiencies and presenting policy recommendations to fortify the national security framework. Central to this analysis are questions surrounding the effectiveness of the NSArch,…
On 24 January, Somalia’s Federal Parliament approved the ‘Adoption Procedure for Constitutional Amendment’ in a joint session of the House of the People and the Upper House. The five-page procedure consists of eight articles. Articles three, four, and five…
Summary Find the Somali version of this briefing here. …
THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF CHECKPOINTS IN SOMALIA SUMMARY This report explores the political economy of checkpoints in Somalia: What drives their formation? What impacts do they have on trade, society and political projects? To explore these factors, new empirical…
THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF CHECKPOINTS ALONG THE BAIDOA CORRIDOR SUMMARY • The Baidoa corridor is a transport and trade route that connects Somalia’s coastal capital, Mogadishu, to Kenya via the border towns of Bula Hawa and Dollow, respectively. As…
THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF CHECKPOINTS ALONG SOMALIA’S GARISSA CORRIDOR SUMMARY • The Garissa corridor is an essential artery for trade and exchange between Kismayo in Somalia’s Jubaland state, and the Kenyan city of Garissa. Checkpoints along this route were…
Introduction One of the most significant recent developments in the prolonged struggle against al-Shabaab in Somalia has been the success of military operations led by the Somali National Armed Forces and allied self-defence militias known as Ma’awisley. Ma’awisley—named after the…
SUMMARY Somalia grapples with unique cultural, societal, and structural hurdles that hinder women’s access to political processes. Despite introducing a non-legally binding quota, the most recent federal elections in 2022 saw a decline in women’s parliamentary representation. Beyond this,…
Recent Publications
Civil Society Organizations and Peacebuilding in Ethiopia
March 20, 2025
Civil Society Organizations and Peacebuilding in Ethiopia This paper examines the roles of civil society organizations (CSOs) in Ethiopian peacebuilding, exploring change and continuity within the sector and how past events influence their activities. It discusses CSOs’ involvement in peace
XCEPT Local Research Legacy: Sharing the experiences of women amid agricultural transitions in the borderlands
March 19, 2025
I became involved in the Cross-border Conflict Evidence, Policy, and Trends (XCEPT) programme’s Local Research Network (LRN) at its inception in 2018. During the following years, the network introduced me to a wider community of researchers who share a similar interest
XCEPT Local Research Legacy: How collaborative research and mentorship approaches have shaped my research capacity and interest
March 19, 2025
I was first invited to join the Cross-border Conflict Evidence, Policy, and Trends (XCEPT) programme in 2019, having previously worked with the Rift Valley Institute (RVI) on research in South Sudan. This innovative project brought together international experts and early career researchers