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There are lots of parallels between the mafia system and Somali clan society. You pay your regular dues (in Somali, "qaaraan") that could be spent on anything f

There are lots of parallels between the mafia system and Somali clan society. You pay your regular dues (in Somali, "qaaraan") that could be spent on anything from helping a destitute clansman get healthcare or a funeral, or help fund a clan militia's war. In return, you're under the protection of the clan on a blood-for-blood basis, guaranteed support and safety when the need arises. Just like the mafia system has it's downsides, so does the Somali system as evidenced by going on several decades of bloodshed now.

wmt 12y ago
That seems to parallel some other systems too where you pay the rulers a tax which gets used to fund stuff like healthcare or wars.
- praxeologist 12y ago
  "That" is a totally imagined mischaracterization of how Xeer law works. See here for how it actually works: http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Academic/Course_Pages/legal_systems_very_different_12/Book_Draft/Systems/SomaliLawChapter.html http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Academic/Course_Pages/legal_sy...
praxeologist 12y ago
>Just like the mafia system has it's downsides, so does the Somali system as evidenced by going on several decades of bloodshed now. This is an incredibly ignorant statement. The source of bloodshed in Somalia is foreign governments via the UN/AMISOM and their largely Kenyan/Ethiopian troops trying to prop up a government in Mogadishu, as well as the foreign-funded al-Shabaab they fight. This is not some noble jihad for democracy, just various factions struggling for the benefits a monopoly backed by strong foreign powers will bring. The political climate and level of violence in south and southwest Somalia is vastly different than the rest of the region. Beyond Galkayo, there is pretty much no war. In Puntland and Somaliland, Xeer and customary law trumps the weak governments of the autonomous regions. You falsely equate Xeer to the mafia and where the Xeer legal order reigns there is peace in Somalia. A mafia system is identical to a state except a state has public acceptance of the hegemony. The Somali people want Xeer and not state rule. Even during the Barre regime they would not recognize decisions of state courts and would handle the bulk of disputes their own way and ignore state rulings. The decades of bloodshed come from a minority group of western-educated democracy lovers and psychopath "warlords" who have been waging war on the Mogadishu area for the prize of UN recognition and the trough of foreign aid money it brings.

wmt 12y ago

That seems to parallel some other systems too where you pay the rulers a tax which gets used to fund stuff like healthcare or wars.

praxeologist 12y ago
"That" is a totally imagined mischaracterization of how Xeer law works. See here for how it actually works: http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Academic/Course_Pages/legal_systems_very_different_12/Book_Draft/Systems/SomaliLawChapter.html http://www.daviddfriedman.com/Academic/Course_Pages/legal_sy...

praxeologist 12y ago

>Just like the mafia system has it's downsides, so does the Somali system as evidenced by going on several decades of bloodshed now. This is an incredibly ignorant statement. The source of bloodshed in Somalia is foreign governments via the UN/AMISOM and their largely Kenyan/Ethiopian troops trying to prop up a government in Mogadishu, as well as the foreign-funded al-Shabaab they fight. This is not some noble jihad for democracy, just various factions struggling for the benefits a monopoly backed by strong foreign powers will bring. The political climate and level of violence in south and southwest Somalia is vastly different than the rest of the region. Beyond Galkayo, there is pretty much no war. In Puntland and Somaliland, Xeer and customary law trumps the weak governments of the autonomous regions. You falsely equate Xeer to the mafia and where the Xeer legal order reigns there is peace in Somalia. A mafia system is identical to a state except a state has public acceptance of the hegemony. The Somali people want Xeer and not state rule. Even during the Barre regime they would not recognize decisions of state courts and would handle the bulk of disputes their own way and ignore state rulings. The decades of bloodshed come from a minority group of western-educated democracy lovers and psychopath "warlords" who have been waging war on the Mogadishu area for the prize of UN recognition and the trough of foreign aid money it brings.