Land At the Center of Somali Conflict

 The Heritage Institute for Policy Studies published in December 2023 a report titled "Somalia: Land Governance Review" by Surer Qassim Mohamed, Cambridge University.  

Land is a central point of contention in Somalia's fragmented political landscape and remains a significant driver of contemporary conflict.  Somalia's land governance architecture is a patchwork of unclear and overlapping authorities, overlapping claims to land use, large-scale land grabbing, and unclear land tenure.

This report aims to provide an overview of the current state of land governance in Somalia, examining the historical context, hybrid legal framework, and current practices around land ownership, access, and control.  

Impact of Urbanization in Somalia

 The Rift Valley Institute published in 2022 a study titled "Commodified Cities: Urbanization and Public Goods in Somalia" by Tobias Hagmann et al.  

Somali cities are fragile but continue to be attractive places to live, work, trade, get an education, and socialize for many Somalis.  Urbanization is transforming Somali society in multiple and profound ways.  

Land Leases in the Horn of Africa

Chatham House in London has added to the growing body of literature on land leasing, referred to by some as "land-grabbing" in the Horn of Africa. Jason Mosley authored a study titled Peace, Bread and Land: Agricultural Investments in Ethiopia and the Sudans dated January 2012.

The report concludes that those who suggest governments are the unwitting victims of "land-grabbing" is a misleading oversimplification. Although accurate information on many of these deals is extremely limited, the governments know what they are up to.