Release Date: July 31, 2014
Publisher: Transaction Publishers
Shaul Shay is author of Islamic Terror and the Balkans (2006), The Shahids: Islam and Suicide Attacks (2004), The Red Sea Terror Triangle: Sudan, Somalia, Yemen, and Islamic Terror (2006), and Somalia between Jihad and Restoration (2010), among others. He is a senior research fellow of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies and the International Policy Institute for Counter Terrorism (ICT) at the Interdisciplinary Center Herzeliya (IDC).
This book picks up where its predecessor, Somalia between Jihad and Restoration, left off, examining international efforts to stabilize war-torn Somalia. It analyzes major political events in Somalia in the years since 2006, examining opportunities for restoration of the country based on the United Nations-backed plan known as the "Roadmap for the End of the Transition," improved security conditions, and international economics and financial support.
The author notes that the time of transition may be over, according to the timetable of the United Nations, but it is clear that the work of transformation is just beginning. In considering whether political and social chaos in Somalia is ending, Shay sees two possible futures. One possibility is the establishment of a reform government that unifies Somali society; another is continued strife that accelerates Somalia’s descent into the endless violence of a failed state.
Shay believes the international approach to Somalia requires a thorough reassessment. He argues it has been limited to two Western priorities—terrorism and piracy—while largely ignoring domestic issues of critical concern to Somalis. As a result, many Somalis have come to view those participating in the international effort as a foreign occupation.
When Eritrea gained independence in 1991, hopes were high for its transformation. In two decades, however, it became one of the most repressive in the world, effectively a militarised "garrison state". This comprehensive and detailed analysis examines how the prospects for democracy in the new state turned to ashes, reviewing its development, and in particular the loss of human rights and the state's political organisation. Beginning with judicial development in independent Eritrea, subsequent chapters scrutinise the rule of law and the court system; the hobbled process of democratisation, and the curtailment of civil society; the Eritrean prison system and everyday life of detention and disappearances; and the situation of minorities in the country, first in general terms and then through exploration of a case study of the Kunama ethnic group. While the situation is bleak, it is not without hope, however: the conclusion focuses on opposition to the current regime, and offers scenarios of regime change and how the coming of a second republic may yet reconfigure Eritrea politically.
State and Land in Ethiopian History focuses on the relationship between the State and land tenure problems to the exclusion of many other significant aspects of customary land tenure in Ethiopia. The student of Ethiopian affairs cannot fail to be impressed by the major role played by the monarchy in the system of land holdings over the long span of the country s recorded history. It is important to remember, however, that the powers of the Emperors were not static but fluctuated greatly in the last half millennium or so for which we possess relatively good historical records, which had a significant effect on land tenure. This book traces the changing fortunes of the monarchy as well as examines the theoretical basis of its authority as formulated in contemporary writings. It also examines the manner in which the State affected the system of land tenure from Aksumite times to the eve of the Italian invasion of 1935. A chronological approach has been attempted wherever possible to explain the significant changes as well as the continuity which has characterized the history of Ethiopian land tenure.