Paper short abstract:

I argue that Somali peace processes in the early 2000s anchored diasporas' legitimacy, expanded formulations as to what a Somali political community looked like - thus reinforcing Somali citizenship as de-territorial in discourse and in practice

Paper long abstract:

The Somali civil war in the 1990s led to massive displacement within Somalia and outside its borders. This displacement was so significant in shaping how Somalis see themselves as political actors, that when peace negotiations finally made progress on reconstituting the country’s institutions, addressing the “diaspora”-question became indispensable. As I argue, the peace processes at Arta and Mbagathi anchored their legitimacy in part in expanded formulations as to what a Somali political community looked like -extending it explicitly to transnational belonging and participation-, thus reinforcing Somali citizenship as de-territorial in discourse and in practice.

Importantly, the debates at Arta and Mbagathi therefore not only underscored the resilience of Somali political consciousness, but because these peace conference took place within the Horn of Africa, they also highlighted the roles of so-called “quasi-citizens” who seized on the opportunity to rearticulate their understanding of citizenship, both in their places of residence and vis-à-vis the Somali “homeland”. Indeed, I foreground the creative use of new identities -by ordinary people and by seasoned diplomats with a link to Somalia (but formally citizens of other states)- to analyze how these were operationalized in the realm of peace-building amidst crowded fields of claim-making and contrasting political visions. Especially salient was the appropriation of communal clan logics. However, the same arrangements that created space for diaspora Somalis to stake claims to political participation simultaneously limited the extent to which they could express a full range of demands, leaving them (and many Somalis back ‘home’) frustrated.