Warlord extortion of aid modernized the old abbaan protector system

Evidence

Factions levied heavy taxes on cargoes, taking cuts of 10–20 per cent on incoming aid, and charged relief agencies exorbitant fees for providing armed escorts on food conveys they were apt also to loot. This was, of course, a further extension and modernization of the old abbaan protector-agent system referred to above: from the perspective of the donors, however, it was hardly an efficient method of aid distribution! — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 625

Categorization

• XREF: Links directly to Lewis’s own earlier chapters describing the abbaan protector-agent institution in traditional Somali society. — connects to: Warlords believed they could manipulate outside intervention to their advantage — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 630; UN infrastructure collapse funded the rise of a new warlord generation — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 644; Post-1991 Somalia reverted to precolonial clan republic practices like the abban
• DEFINE: Explains how the militias’ racketeering is a ‘modernization’ of the traditional abbaan system.

Related

• UN infrastructure collapse funded the rise of a new warlord generation (similarity 0.80)
• Warlords believed they could manipulate outside intervention to their advantage (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Warlords believed they could manipulate outside intervention to their advantage #expands (0.70) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 630
• Post-1991 Somalia reverted to precolonial clan republic practices like the abban #qualifies (0.65)
• UN infrastructure collapse funded the rise of a new warlord generation #corroborates (0.60) — I.M. Lewis, I. M. Lewis, A Modern History of the Somali_ Nation…, 644