By Ismail Warsame, Warsame Digital Media (WDM) MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s constitutional reform is often presented as a legal and technical exercise involving articles, clauses, committees and parliamentary votes. But the central issue is much larger. It concerns the kind of state Somalis want to build after decades of conflict, state collapse, displacement and fragmented authority. … Continue reading Somalia’s Constitutional Reform Must Become a National Settlement, Not an Elite Bargain →
Warsame Policy & Media Network (WAPMEN) — Critical analysis, news and commentariesTalking truth to power in an undemocratic and tribal context Veteran Somali political writer Ismail Haji Warsame has released a new two-volume book on contemporary Somali political history. The books are now available through major international retailers and digital libraries, including Amazon (in multiple country stores), … Continue reading A New Resource on Contemporary Somali Political History →
By Ismail H. Warsame | Warsame Digital Media (WDM) Preface When the Puntland State of Somalia was founded in August 1998, it was more than a political experiment: it was an organized act of resistance against national collapse. As Director General at the Presidency, I stood at the center of a new state trying to … Continue reading My Untold Political and Administrative Disagreements with President Abdullahi Yusuf: Inside the Puntland Presidency -A Political Memoir Essay →
The Ministry of Discouragement Never Sleeps By Ismail H. Warsame A friend of mine said something the other day that was both hilarious and tragic. “If you share a business idea with government officials or businesspeople in Mogadishu, they immediately become curious. They ask questions. They want to know how it works. Some even try … Continue reading Puntland: Where Business Ideas Go to Die →
The Advice That Was Ignored: Puntland’s Lost Opportunity for National Leadership By Ismail H. Warsame, MSc, PhD Candidate History often records not only the decisions leaders make, but also the advice they refuse to hear. In politics, ignoring sound counsel can prove more costly than making an honest mistake. Puntland today finds itself confronting exactly … Continue reading →
Structural Failures in Puntland: Why Institutional Reform Must Become the Foundation of Sustainable Governance By Abdiladif Ahmed Security Intelligence Analyst and Public Policy Researcher Introduction: Stability Without Strong Institutions Is an Illusion For more than twenty-five years, Puntland has frequently been presented as one of Somalia’s most stable federal member states. Compared with many other … Continue reading Structural Failures in Puntland: Why Institutional Reform Must Become the Foundation of Sustainable Governance →
By Ismail H. Warsame Every time violence erupts in Galkayo, the political class reaches for the same tired script. More police. More checkpoints. More emergency meetings. More promises. Then, after the shooting subsides, everyone congratulates themselves until the next crisis arrives. Nothing changes. That is because they continue treating the symptoms while ignoring what many … Continue reading Galkayo’s Real Crisis: A City Without Permanent Stakeholders →
By WDM – Commentary and Critical Analysis Politics in Somalia has always suffered from one incurable disease: the belief that what cannot be achieved through ideas can somehow be accomplished through intrigue. Whenever leaders exhaust vision, they compensate with conspiracy. Whenever they fail to persuade, they begin searching for shortcuts. It is an old Somali … Continue reading The Mirage of Toppling Puntland: A Lesson in Political Reality →
By Ismail H. Warsame There is a profound difference between rejecting federalism and failing to understand how federalism works. Somalia’s political class continues to confuse the two, and the consequences have been devastating. Instead of confronting political reality, many leaders remain trapped in the illusion that the country can simply return to the highly centralized … Continue reading Federalism Is Not the Problem—Refusing to Understand It Is →
Why Closed-Door Governance Is Un-Somali, Strategically Self-Defeating, and Harmful to Somali National Unity A WAPMEN Policy White Paper By Ismail H. Warsame, MSc, PhD Candidate Executive Summary Puntland has historically distinguished itself as a constructive political actor within Somalia’s federal system. Since its establishment in 1998, it has exercised influence not through military dominance or … Continue reading Politics of Isolation and the Crisis of Leadership in Puntland →
