Custom,contestation and co-operation: peace and justice promotion in Somaliland |
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| Authors: | Louise W. Moe Maria Vargas Simojoki |
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| Affiliation: | 1. PhD candidate at the School of Political Science and International Studies, University of Queensland , She is currently a guest researcher at the Danish Institute of International Studies. She holds a Master's degree in International Studies from the University of Stellenbosch and the International Peace Research Institute, Oslo;2. holds a Master's degree in International Development Studies and Religion Studies from Roskilde and Copenhagen Universities , From 2007 to 2009 she worked with the Danish Refugee Council in Somaliland and Somalia with customary law and protection programmes. Since then she has worked in Yemen and South Sudan with emergency protection |
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| Abstract: | This article explores alternatives to prevailing state-centric and legalistic approaches to supporting local security and access to justice. It does so through a case study of an initiative developed by an international NGO in partnership with a group of traditional authorities in Somaliland. The initiative aimed at enhancing local security and access to justice, drawing on customary conflict resolution mechanisms and everyday strategies of self-securing. At the same time, the initiative was shaped by international input and liberal notions of human rights and human security. This approach entailed a renegotiation of both local ordering and international discourse. Drawing on our fieldwork, we examine the initiative as it has evolved since 2003, and discuss what it suggests in terms of prospects for international support to ‘non-state’ actors. In particular, the article draws attention to the potential of working with everyday local practices to enable social change rather than focusing narrowly on reforming legal systems (whether state or customary). |
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