Greater Somalia

Greater Somalia sometimes also called Greater Somaliland[1] (Somali: Soomaaliweyn; Arabic: الصومال الكبرى, romanized: al-Sūmāl al-Kubrā) is the geographic location comprising the regions in the Horn of Africa in which ethnic Somalis live and have historically inhabited.[2][3]

Historically ethnic Somali inhabited territory roughly corresponding to Greater Somalia

During the Scramble for Africa at the end of the 19th century, Somali inhabited territories were partitioned between imperial powers. The unification of these territories became a focal objective of an independent Somalia. Referred to as 'Greater Somalia', these regions at the outset of Somali independence encompassed British Somaliland and Italian Somaliland, which had successfully merged into a single nation in 1960. French Somaliland, the Northern Frontier District (NFD) in Kenya and the Ogaden region in Ethiopia were placed under the control of neighboring states, despite the pre-independence unification efforts of Somali nationalists.

The post-independence governments of the Somali Republic (1960-1969) and the Somali Democratic Republic (1969-1991) expended significant effort towards the unification of the NFD and French Somaliland with Somalia, however their primary focus was the Ogaden region, which had been occupied by Ethiopia since Menelik's invasions in the 1890s.[4] From 1960 and onwards, Somalis in Ethiopia seeking their self-determination have waged several insurgencies with the support of neighboring Somalia, escalating into several major interstate conflicts including the Ogaden War in Ethiopia and the Shifta War in Kenya.[1][5]

However, following of breakout of the Somali Civil War and the splintering of Somalia into various autonomous polities, the concept of Greater Somalia has seen a sharp decline in support, with some Somali diaspora communities advocating for autonomy or independence rather than a full fledged union.[6][7]

  1. ^ a b Mohamed, Jama (Nov 2002). "Imperial Policies and Nationalism in The Decolonization of Somaliland, 1954–1960". The English Historical Review. 117 (474): 1177–1203.
  2. ^ Barnes, Cedric. "The Somali Youth League, Ethiopian Somalis and the Greater Somalia Idea, c. 1946–48". Journal of Eastern African Studies. 1 (2): 277–291. doi:10.1080/17531050701452564. ISSN 1753-1055.
  3. ^ Laitin, David D. (1976). "Somali Territorial Claims in International Perspective". Africa Today. 23 (2): 29–38. ISSN 0001-9887.
  4. ^ Abdi 2021, p. 69-74.
  5. ^ Lewis, I. M. (1989). "The Ogaden and the Fragility of Somali Segmentary Nationalism". African Affairs. 88 (353): 573–579. ISSN 0001-9909.
  6. ^ Weitzberg 2017, Section: The Multiple Visions of Greater Somalia.
  7. ^ Weitzberg 2017, Section: The Creation of Homeland.