History of Somalia (1991–2006)

Between the fall of Siad Barre's government in January 1991 and the establishment of the Transitional National Government in 2006 (succeeded by the Transitional Federal Government), there was no central government in Somalia. Large areas of the country such as Puntland and Galmudug were internationally unrecognized and administered as autonomous regions of Somalia, while forces in the northwest declared the Republic of Somaliland. The remaining areas, including the capital Mogadishu, were divided into smaller territories ruled by competing faction leaders. During this period, Somalia has been cited as a real-world example of a stateless society and a country with no formal legal system.

The Transitional Federal Government, formed in 2004, was recognized as the central government of Somalia. Before December 2006, the TFG controlled only the town of Baidoa, the sixth largest city. The intervention of Ethiopian government forces following the rise of the Islamic Courts Union, culminating in the latter's defeat in the Battle of Baidoa, allowed the TFG to expand its control under the protection of Ethiopian troops. The TFG was at the time not able to effectively collect taxes, had no notable finances or real power base, and struggled to exert control over Mogadishu following an attempted move in late December 2006. However, the TFG later succeeded in capturing most of Somalia from insurgents, but struggled to cement its control and establish law and order.

Benjamin Powell argued that statelessness led to more order and less chaos than had the previous state, and economist Alex Tabarrok claimed that Somalia in its stateless period provided a "unique test of the theory of anarchy", in some aspects near of that espoused by anarcho-capitalists David D. Friedman and Murray Rothbard, although this is disputed by anarchists and anarcho-capitalists, who contend it is not anarchy, but merely chaos, perhaps resulting from unequal distribution of power and meddling by neighbors and developed nations like the United States. The Somali experience since the collapse of the state, and especially the failure of international intervention, has offered a clear challenge to elements of conventional economic, political and social order theory and the very premises under which Western diplomacy and development agencies operate, and in particular, in the words of anthropologist Peter D. Little, "assumptions about the role of states in maintaining order and services".Little, P. (2003). ''Somalia: Economy without state''. Oxford:International African Institute in association with James Currey.

The rule of law

Following the downfall of the Siad Barre government, there was effectively no formal monocentric government law in Somalia. While some urban areas such as Mogadishu had private police forces, many Somalis simply returned to the traditional clan-based legal structures for local governance and dispute resolution. Identified by ''The New York Times'' as "legendary individualists", Somalis have been thought of as particularly receptive to anarchist forms of social organisation; social scientists have identified the pastoralist way of life that a great many Somalis lead as in tension with formal statist legal systems.Mazrui, A. (1997). "Crisis in Somalia: From tyranny to anarchy." In Adam, H. & Ford, R. (Eds.), ''Mending rips in the sky: Options for Somali communities in the 21st century'' (pp. 5–11). Lawrenceville, New Jersey: The Red Sea Press, Inc. Political loyalties are based on clan and region rather than political party, which, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs makes the sustainability of a centralised political system "difficult".

Anthropologist Spencer MacCallum has identified the rule of law during the period as that of the Xeer, a customary law indigenous to Somalia. The law permits practices such as safe travel, trade, and marriage, which survives "to a significant degree" throughout Somalia, particularly in rural Somalia where it is "virtually unaffected".
MacCallum credits the Xeer with "Somalia's success without a central government, since it provides an authentic rule of law to support trade and economic development." In the Xeer, law and crime are defined in terms of property rights; consequently the criminal justice system is compensatory rather than the punitive system of the majority of states, and the Xeer is "unequivocal in its opposition" to any form of taxation. Powell et al. (2006) find that the existence of the common law dispute resolution system in Somalia makes possible basic economic order. MacCallum compares the Xeer to the common law in 6th century Scotland, and notes that there is no monopoly of either police nor judicial services, a condition of polycentric law. However, a weakness of such a system is that it proves ineffective at handling disputes and enforcing resolutions that cross clan boundaries. For example, in a dispute involving telecommunications company Aerolite, the plaintiff from the weaker clan was unable to collect the "unfairly" small settlement they had been awarded.

The absence of any effective coast guard to enforce maritime law, however, resulted in Somali international waters becoming an "international free-for-all", with piracy off the coast of Somalia in particular being the subject of international attention. Supporters of Somali piracy argue that they are reacting to illegal over-fishing and toxic waste dumping by foreign powers, and some pirate organisations have styled themselves as voluntarist defense organisations with names like National Volunteer Coastguard of Somalia and Somali Marines.

Social conditions

The international aid group ''Médecins Sans Frontières'' stated that the level of daily violence during this period was "catastrophic". While the homicide rate was significantly higher than in the US or in Europe, it was actually lower than in most of the African countries. A statistic from 2000 indicated that only 21% of the population had access to safe drinking water at that time, and Somalia had one of the highest child mortality rates in the world with 10% of children dying at birth and 25% of those surviving birth dying before age five. Additionally, "adult literacy is estimated to have declined from the already low level of 24% in 1989 to 17.1% in 2001."World Bank Advisory Committee for Somali
Country Re-Engagement Note (pdf)
(2003), retrieved 4 November 2005 A more recent 2003 study reported that the literacy rate was 19%. The impact on human development in Somalia of governmental collapse and ensuing civil war was profound, leading to the breakdown of political institutions, the destruction of social and economic infrastructure and massive internal and external migrations.

According to a study by the libertarian think tank the Independent Institute:

In 2005, Somalia ranked in the top 50 percent in six of our 13 measures, and ranked near the bottom in only three: infant mortality, immunization rates, and access to improved water sources. This compares favorably with circumstances in 1990, when Somalia last had a government and was ranked in the bottom 50 percent for all seven of the measures for which we had that year's data: death rate, infant mortality, life expectancy, main telephone lines, tuberculosis, and immunization for measles and DTP."

The libertarian think tank the Mises Institute also repeatedly praised Somalia, as has the Libertarian think tank the Cato Institute.

Prior to the fall of the Somali government in the early 1990s
Somalia's life expectancy
was approximately equal to neighboring Ethiopia. As of 2014, after a quarter of a century of minimal government, life expectancy in Somalia was 9 years behind Ethiopia. However, both of them improved drastically.

Social organization

In the absence of functioning governmental institutions and regulations, they were supplanted by the private sector and clan law. Commentators identify evidence of areas where the private sector adapted to the stateless environment. A 2004 World Bank study of the Somali economy concluded that "it may be easier than is commonly thought for basic systems of finance and some infrastructure services to function where government is extremely weak or absent." ''The New York Times'' referred to post-state Mogadishu as "the ultimate example of deregulation," noting that " tsy entrepreneurs, including some women, opened their own hospitals, schools… telephone companies, power plants and ports".

Communications

In the absence of government service provision and regulation, private businessmen stepped in to provide telecommunications and mail services. In 2007 parts of Somalia had some of the best voice telecommunications in Africa, with 10 or more competing companies ready to wire home or office and provide crystal-clear service, including international long distance, for about $10 a month." According to the CIA World Factbook, private telephone companies "offer service in most major cities" via wireless technology, charging "the lowest international rates on the continent", Installation time for a land-line was just three days, while in neighboring Kenya waiting lists were many years long. On the other hand, just 0.7% of the population of Somalia had access to internet in 2006, a sixth of Kenya's internet penetration at the time, and in 2007 mobile phone penetration rates in Somalia were amongst the lowest in Africa.

''The Economist'' argued the lack of telecommunication regulation in Somalia represented "a vivid illustration of the way in which governments…can often be more of a hindrance than a help" to private entrepreneurs.
Abdullahi Mohammed Hussein of Telecom Somalia stated that "the government post and telecoms company used to have a monopoly but after the regime was toppled, we were free to set up our own business", though he also commented that he would be "interested in paying taxes" if an incoming government improved the security situation.

Utilities

Since 1991 Somalia has lacked a functioning central electricity grid, but private entrepreneurs have offered electricity generation on a localised basis, typically offering a choice of daytime, evening or 24-hour electricity. Gaalkacyo, a desert town in central Somalia, was provided with streetlights by local entrepreneur Abdirizak Osman, who expanded his enterprises from telecommunications to power generators, not only lighting the town but also supplying free electricity to the local hospital.

Private entrepreneurs have also collected and distributed water, although due to a lack of purification there is little access to safe water.

Media

Since the fall of the government, dozens of private newspapers, radio and television stations rapidly grew (Mogadishu has two fiercely competing TV stations), with private radio stations or newspapers in almost all major towns.

Transport

Multiple private airlines, including Air Somalia, Jubba Airways and Daallo Airlines, emerged to serve the Somali market. According to a 2005 World Bank report, the "private airline business in Somalia is now thriving with more than five carriers and price wars between the companies." Mohammed Yassin Olad, owner of Daallo Airlines, stated that the absence of government has led to both difficulties and benefits, and commented that " corruption is not a problem, because there is no government…We build the airports and we service the airports and we only fly when we are sure it's safe". Concurrently, the International Civil Aviation Organization and the United Nations Development Programme managed Somalia's airspace through the Civil Aviation Caretaker Authority for Somalia.

The expansion of the aviation industry was accompanied by the disruption of road transport; many roads are frequently blocked by militia checkpoints which demand payment (between $3 and $300, depending on goods carried) in order to allow the cars to continue their journey. A BBC
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