The Horn of Africa: State Formation and Decay

by Christopher Clapham

Why is the Horn such a distinctive part of Africa? This book, by one of the foremost scholars of the region, traces this question through its exceptional history and also probes the wildly divergent fates of the Horn’s contemporary nation-states, despite the striking regional particularity inherited from the colonial past.

Christopher Clapham explores how the Horn’s peculiar topography gave rise to the Ethiopian empire, the sole African state not only to survive European colonialism, but also to participate in a colonial enterprise of its own.  Its impact on its neighbours, present-day Djibouti, Eritrea, Somalia and Somaliland, created a region very different from that of post-colonial Africa. This dynamic has become all the more distinct since 1991, when Eritrea and Somaliland emerged from the break-up of both Ethiopia and Somalia. 

Yet this evolution has produced highly varied outcomes in the region’s constituent countries, from state collapse (and deeply flawed reconstruction) in Somalia, through militarised isolation in Eritrea, to a still fragile ‘developmental state’ in Ethiopia. The tensions implicit in the process of state formation now drive the relationships between the once historically close nations of the Horn.

Genres: Africa, History, Ethiopia, Nonfiction, Politics, Somalia, Eritrea

268 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 9, 2023

Reviews

[John Mcdonnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can think of no more efficient way to get up to speed on the recent history of the African horn than this book. In many ways the region has had a unique history, quite distinct from their Maghreb or Sub-Saharan neighbors.

Interesting claims:
• Eritrea enslaves their entire adult population under the guise of a military draft. There is no sign that this will change anytime soon.
• Eritrea's extreme extractiveness and hostility with Ethiopia greatly benefits Djibouti, which is essentially Ethiopia's only route to the outside world.
• In many ways, northern Somalia is a success story in this region: Pastoralists live more or less their traditional ways of life under a clan system that protects them from outsiders, and they even have better cell phone service than Ethiopia (or so claims the author).
• So-called "legitimate governments" in Somalia are essentially fictions that exist to capture external aid. The international community does not seem to have any model for a situation in which much of the country does not want to live under a centralized state, and it does not seem as if establishing one would improve the situation for most Somalis.

[Rebuma Dejene · Rating 5 out of 5]

A magnificent book with scholarly exploration of the Horn's intricate and complex history, politics, society including the regional and international dynamics. It is a very important contribution to the understanding of the Horn of Africa region with its own historical peculiarities, political complexities and nuances, and its long-standing interactions with the international and regional powers. I believe that it will serve as an essential work to be consulted by policymakers, academicians, think tanks, and other stakeholders from one of the most distinguished scholars on the Horn of Africa, Cristopher Clapham. The work provides different and complex levels of analysis in attempting to explain the region: society, state, international and individual-level analysis. I hope the book can also serve as a springboard for a new revival in the study and research of the Horn of Africa as a unique region in own terms.

[Eric Randolph · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brief, excellent overview

[Mills College Library]

963.07 C588 2017