Why Failed States Matter: The Case of Somalia

Abstract

As the United States continues to conduct successful military operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan to target and disrupt Al Qaida's ability to recruit, train, and plan future attacks, terrorist organizations continue to spread in ungoverned areas of the world. Since the 1991 civil war that tore Somalia apart, no central government has been successful in reestablishing rule of law in that country. Today, Somalia is a failed state that offers a safe haven for terrorist groups such as Al Shabaab, which has itself aligned with Al Qaida in its ideology and poses a national security risk to vital U.S. interests and the international community. This paper, using Somalia as an example, will seek to understand how a nation descends into a failed-state status, and the ramifications of that failure if the international community does not intervene.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 23, 2012
Accession Number
ADA560777

Entities

People

  • William T. Brooks

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Civil War
  • Commerce
  • Failed States
  • Governments
  • Intergovernmental Organizations
  • International Law
  • Military Operations
  • Mobile Phones
  • National Governments
  • National Security
  • Security
  • Social Media
  • Terrorism
  • Terrorists
  • United States
  • United States Government
  • War Colleges

Fields of Study

  • Sociology

Readers

  • Military and Counterinsurgency Studies.
  • Political Violence and Terrorism Studies.