Stabilizing Somalia

Somalia remains deeply engaged in a 43-year-long battle against Al-Shabaab, a terrorist organization that exploits the weaknesses of the Somalian government and state instability resulting from years of prolonged humanitarian crises and armed conflicts. This conflict has led to dire humanitarian and economic conditions within Somalia, leading to the rise in displaced peoples and increased instances of piracy and transnational crime. The entire international system is at risk if this issue worsens: transnational threats originating within failed states pose the gravest dangers to U.S. and global security. The risk of civil war in Africa increases with each 1°C increase in temperature: the inefficient management of climate-contested resources means that new conflicts will arise and existing ones will worsen, affecting the entire globe.

I argue that, in congruence with a top-down military offensive on Al-Shabaab and economic aid towards the young Somalian government, the United States should focus its foreign policy towards a bottom-up approach of peacebuilding, specifically through the legitimization, funding, and coordination of the many NGOs in Somalia.

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