Transformation of the Somali Civil-War and Reflections for a Post -Conflict Social Contract

2019 marks 28 years since the central government in Somalia collapsed, however, even today, subsequent generations of those who experienced the collapse continue to suffer its consequences. Relative to its prolonged manifestation, the crisis in Somalia remains a difficult one to forget given the continued internal suffering and external threat that it poses. Purposefully, this article will attempt to contribute to the existing peace efforts by adding the role of community/clan social contract in the peace process. The previous peace efforts prioritized state -building and establishing a central government without examining the attitude of people towards a central authority given their experiences and how the clans relate to each other. We argue that the complexity of the conflict in Somalia is due to the transformation of the conflict from a civil war to a chaotic mixture of clan-based violence, terrorism, and piracy. To solve this problem, we recommend a two-level social contract approach that will be people driven and address some of the major grievances of key actors through a constitutional process.