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 →
By Ismail H. Warsame Many commentators conveniently rewrite history by portraying Donald Trump as the politician who ushered America into the age of digital politics. That narrative is historically incomplete. The digital presidency did not begin with Donald Trump’s tweets. It began with Barack Obama’s BlackBerry.When Barack Obama entered the White House in 2009, he … Continue reading The Obama BlackBerry Affair: The Birth of America’s Digital Presidency →
By Ismail H. Warsame A diplomatic note rarely attracts public attention. It contains no fiery rhetoric, no threats, and no dramatic headlines. Yet some of the most consequential shifts in international politics begin with carefully worded diplomatic correspondence. The recent note from the United States Mission to the African Union is one such document.Its language … Continue reading The End of the Blank Check? What Washington’s Diplomatic Note Means for Somalia’s Security Future →
By Ismail H. Warsame The first duty of any government is not building roads, holding conferences, issuing press releases, or making political speeches. The first duty of government is to establish and maintain law and order. Without law and order, everything else becomes a facade. Without accountability, a state gradually surrenders authority to criminals, armed … Continue reading Puntland’s Missing Link: Accountability, Law Enforcement, and the Making of Repeat Offenders →
