The Somaliland Narrative

[Jacaylbaro]

A prevalent characteristic of modern or postmodern literature is its disdain for smooth narratives that have a clear beginning, middle and end, and its preference for discontinuous and shifting perspectives that frustrate the reader’s expectations. This is particularly true of avant-garde literature. But in the more mundane world of politics, narratives still reign supreme because they serve as an easily digestible and memorable way in which the life of a politician or a country can be presented. Think of such narrative lines as Kennedy’s Camelot, Clinton’s the Come Back Kid or the Somalis’ Pastoral Democracy.

 

As a matter of fact, narrative is so crucial that in order to win in the highly competitive world of open democratic systems or to get a sympathetic hearing in the international arena, a country or a cause has to have an attractive narrative. In other words, often, though not always, the one with the better narrative wins.

 

Why are we talking about this? Because although many observers have written about the growing success of the Somaliland project, the role of the Somaliland narrative in making this success possible has rarely been discussed.

 

There are two titles that, so far, have captured the Somaliland narrative, and have been extraordinarily effective in conveying Somaliland’s message to the world. These two titles are: (a) Somaliland: an oasis of stability; (b) Somaliland: Africa’s best kept secret.

 

Of course, these titles or narrative lines would not have worked if they were too far from reality. And this is the second point about political narratives: not only are good narratives a prerequisite for winning political battles, but the narratives must be buttressed by reality. In other words, you cannot just say anything and expect the world to automatically buy it, which is the mistake that many of Somaliland’s adversaries often make.

 

Identifying so closely with stability and democracy has definitely been to Somaliland’s advantage both domestically and internationally. But there is a potential downside, which is: given the fact that Somaliland is still unrecognized, tying Somaliland’s narrative so closely with democracy and stability means that any serious disturbances of that stability or violations of the tenets of democracy would have disproportionately high negative consequences for Somaliland, higher than if such disturbances occurred in an internationally recognized country. This is why the coming elections are of enormous importance not only to Somaliland’s political system but also to its narrative.

 

 

Source: Somaliland Times