1. Introduction: The Challenges of State Building, State Reconstruction and National Identity Reconfiguration
Redie Bereketeab
PART TWO: Post-Secession State Building: Somaliland, Somalia, Sudan and South Sudan
2. Reconstructing the National State of Somalia: The Role of Traditional Institutions and Authorities
Abdurahman Abdullahi (Baadiyow)
3. Negotiating with Somalia: Is it an Option or a Foreign Imposition?
Nasir M. Ali
4. Reconciliation and Peace-Making: The Somali National Movement and the Somaliland Experience of State Building
Abdirahman Yusuf Duale (Bobe)
5. State Building in the Republic of South Sudan: Challenges and Aspirations
Faiz Omar Mohammad Jamie
6. Borderlands and the Restructuring of Sudan following South Sudan’s Secession
Abdalbasit Saeed
PART THREE: Reconfiguration of National Identity in Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, and Somaliland
7. Somalia: Reconfigeration of National Identity
Abdurahman M. Abdullahi (Baadiyow)
8. Crisis of Identity in a Hybrid Polity: The Case of Somaliland
Ali Noor Mohamed
9. Identity Formation in Post-Secession Sudan
Hamed Omer Hawi
10. National Identity Reconfiguration in South Sudan: Strength and Weaknesses
Dhieu Mathok
11. The Dynamics of National Identity-Building in South Sudan
Faiz Omar Mohammad Jamie
12. Conclusion: From Deconstruction to Reconstruction
Redie Bereketeab
Redie Bereketeab is Associate Professor of Sociology and currently working as Senior Researcher at the Nordic Africa Institute, Sweden. He has authored several books, book chapters, and journal articles. His latest publication include Self-Determination and Secession in Africa: The Post-Colonial State (ed., 2015) and Revising the Eritrean National Liberation Movement, 1961-91 (2016).
This book examines post-secession and post-transition state building in Somaliland, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan. It explores two intimately linked, yet analytically distinct themes: state building and national identity reconstruction following secession and collapse. In Somaliland and South Sudan, rearranging the state requires a complete metamorphosis of state institutions so that they respond to the needs and interests of the people. In Sudan and Somalia, the reconfiguration of the remains of the state must address a new reality and demands on the ground. All four cases examined, although highly variable, involve conflict. Conflict defines the scope, depth and momentum of the state building and state reconstruction process. It also determines the contours and parameters of the projects to reconstitute national identity and rebuild a nation. Addressing the contested identity formation and its direct relation to state building would therefore go a long way in mitigating conflicts and state crisis.