Clan divisions persisted despite cultural unity and imperiled the new Republic

Evidence

Since the focus of all political interests was now ultimately a single national legislature, the marriage of the two territories entailed significant, and in some cases quite drastic changes in the political status of the various clans and lineages within the state. To appreciate the full import of this immediate consequence of union it is necessary to realize that, despite the patriotic fervour which acclaimed the formation of the Republic, the most all-pervasive element in politics remained the loyalty of the individual to his kin and clan. … Yet within this cluster of allegiances, for the majority of the population those bonds based on clanship – now extended much more widely than in traditional Somali politics – remained the most pervasive, the most commanding, and above all the most insidious. No other single line of communication and common interest connected so directly and incontravertibly the pastoral nomad in the interior with his kinsmen in the civil service, in the National Assembly, or in the cabinet itself. — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 425 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Since some of these lines of alignment were mutually contradictory they also contributed to the stability of the state. Thus, for example, clan solidarity amongst the Darod of the ex-Protectorate and Somalia was to some extent offset by differences between north and south stemming from the separate colonial traditions of the two regions, and vice versa. — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 432 (#contradicts, via linked claim)

Categorization

  • XREF: connects to: Electoral success deepened the S.Y.L.’s internal clan divisions; Cross-cutting clan and regional loyalties stabilized the early Republic; Warlords ignored clan loyalty to their own president and rejected Arta (+10 more)

Broader Connections