What is Somalia?

The question of “what is Somalia” can be answered in many ways, due to both the vagueness of the statement and the intrinsic complexity of defining an abstract ever-evolving entity such as a modern nation-state. You can begin to grasp the difficulty by first realizing that Somalia “is” different things to different people, depending on what vantage point you’re viewing it from, what invisible blinders you’ve put on, and most importantly where your self-interest is. For example, if you look at a map, Somalia is often shown as being a coherent whole shaped like a horn, despite persistent attempts of northern “Somaliland” residents at self-determination. To know what Somalia is I recommend you research the characteristics of its geography, politics, history, economics and culture. It may also help to settle on a definition for what constitutes the physical boundaries of a nation state, so that you can accurately examine the evolution of Somalia over time (Somalia has been colonized by 3 western countries over 2 centuries, had multiple islamic sultanates, was a federal democratic republic, had a period of “scientific-socialism” under dictator Siyaad Barre, and experienced years of fragile or non-existent central governance, etc…). If your question is “what is Somalia today” I’d say it’s in a period of fragile central governance, pretty hot most the year, extreme poverty <$1/day poverty is the norm, unemployment is rampant in a extremely young population, security is tenuous thanks largely to a terrorist insurgency Al-Shabaab, and by Max Weber’s definition of a nation-state it’s continuously varying in its physical borders over time due to shifts in who has the monopoly of legitimate use of violent force. In your study I suggest you find sources that are written by Somali authors, and be cautious of clan-based favoritism and biases.