Power sharing agreement is better than democracy based on tribalism
Somali-land democratic transition is back in the spotlight. The concern is no longer the stranglehold of autocrats, but the hijacking of the democratic process by tribal based election process which many occasion created violence and ended up with human loss and casualties in the past. The word democracy appears to be pleasant when it free from tribalism. Taken this reality into consideration, it is evident that it is impossible that we elect an incomparable personality, since our selection criteria is based on tribalism. The challenge to democracy in Somali-land is not the prevalence of ethnic diversity, but the use of identity politics to promote narrow tribal interests.
Some people argue that tribalism creates hidden borer between societies, which presently we notice in Somali-land. Last 20 years Somalia has shown the dangers of tribal competition and underscores the importance of building nations around ideas rather than clan identities. Much attention over the last two decades has been devoted to removing autocrats and promoting multiparty politics. In case of Somali-land, the absences of efforts to build genuine political parties that compete on the basis of ideas have reverted to tribal identities as foundations for political competition.
Our political leaders often exploit tribal loyalty to advance personal gain, parochial interests, patronage, and cronyism. But tribes are not built on democratic ideas but thrive on zero-sum competition. As a result, they are unfavorable to democratic advancement. In essence, tribal practices are occupying a vacuum created by lack of strong democratic institutions. Tribal interests have played a major role in armed conflict and civil unrest in countries in world which Somali-land has gone through dilemma years ago.
When societies are divide either by tribalism, ethnic, racial or religious differences, then the option of power sharing agreement is the most suitable one in view of the absences of real democracy as the same seek a compromise that assures a permanent place at the bargaining table, they may turn to power sharing as a potential solution.
Power sharing is a term used to describe a system of governance in which all major segments of society are provided a permanent share of power; this system is often contrasted with government vs. opposition systems in which ruling coalitions rotate among various social groups over time. These are the basic principles of power sharing as traditionally conceived, which are based on grand coalition governments in which nearly all political parties have appointments; protection of minority rights for groups, decentralization of power and decision making by consensus.Today, there is a more expanded definition of power sharing, such that a wide range of options exist for engendering consensus and compromise in deeply divided societies based on tribalism.
Power sharing deal, mostly understood as including political opponents in a joint executive coalition government or dominant approach to solving conflicts. The literature on power sharing can reach such divergent conclusions because there is no consensus on what power sharing is, what the aim of it is and how to study it. Apart from broad inclusion in joint government, the understanding of power sharing varies and recommendations to ‘share power’ give little guidance to policy-makers aiming to mitigate conflict. Given that power sharing is increasingly recommended and implemented in many tribally divided societies like Somali-land. It is clear that until we wipe out the elements that creates tribalism, it is unmistakable that democracy is far distant from us. Democracy by definition looks to be brain catching, but we have to acknowledge, the same is imported and imposed to us by western world.
Ismail lugweyne.