In contemporary Sweden political participation among foreign-born Swedes is viewed as low and it is well known that foreign-born individuals do not use their voting rights to the same extent as the general population. At the same time there are numerous ethnic associations around the country who work with various activities involving political, democratic and integration issues. This study aims to study how four members of a Somali association regard, relate to and work with politics, democracy and integration. The study is based on these four people, but also on their relationship with authorities and other agencies in the community. The conclusion of this study shows in brief that the desire to participate politically is great, but that democracy and politics is accessible to all, depending on the level of language skills and what political knowledge the individual has. The study problematizes the concept of integration, whether it should be seen as an immigrant question that should be conducted by the immigrants or not. The informants have a vision that the democratic and political work they are engaged in in Sweden will be used to establish a democracy in their home country Somalia in the future. / I dagens Sverige ses politiskt deltagande, bland utlandsfödda svenskar som lågt och det är välkänt att utlandsfödda inte nyttjar sin rösträtt i samma utsträckning som befolkningen i övrigt. Samtidigt finns det åtskilliga etniska föreningar runt om i landet som genom aktiviteter arbetar med politisk, demokratisk och integrerande verksamhet. Denna undersökning syftar till att studera hur fyra medlemmar ur en somalisk förening ser på, förhåller sig till och arbetar med politik, demokrati och integration. Studien utgår ifrån dessa fyra personer, men handlar även om deras relation till myndigheter och andra instanser i samhället. Slutsatsen av denna studie visar i korthet att viljan att deltaga politiskt är stor, men att demokratin och politiken är mer eller mindre tillgänglig för alla, beroende på vilka färdigheter individen har i språk och samhällskunskaper. I studien problematiseras begreppet integration och huruvida det ses som en 'invandrarfråga' som bör bedrivas av invandrare eller inte. Det finns även en vision från informanternas sida att arbetet de bedriver kring demokratin och politiken i Sverige i framtiden ska kunna användas för att upprätta en demokrati i hemlandet Somalia.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Carleton University, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 245-270). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

This dissertation examines media coverage of the 2011- 2012 famine in Somalia by the websites of BBC News, CNN and Al Jazeera. Using both quantitative and qualitative content analyses, it asks why coverage of the famine began as late as it did, despite ample evidence of the coming famine. It further surveys the famine-related news reports for evidence of four paradigms through which the causes of famine can be understood; as a Malthusian competition between population and land, as a failure of food entitlements as conceived of by Sen (1981), as critical political event (Edkins, 2004), or as an issue of criminality (Alex de Waal, 2008). Findings include a dramatic silencing of victim’s accounts of famine, despite a reliance on their photographic images, as well as an overwhelming preference for Malthusian accounts of the famine. Late media coverage is explored via a new-values paradigm which links the sudden outburst of media coverage for the famine to a formal UN declaration, and suggests that this may have created a new elite-relevance to the event which did not exist before, and therefore making it of relevance to domestic publics.

Independent on where in the world one is, patient safety is regarded as one of the most important aspects in the healthcare industry. On the contrary, depending on where you are, the patient safety will differ and is therefore location dependent. The patient safety in a developing country will therefore be evaluated in a different way compared to a developed country. This study, therefore aimed to identify the patient safety in Puntland, Somalia and with it, its healthcare environment in the hospitals. The goal was to identify the main factors that affected the patient safety. To investigate this, a field study to the region of interest was made and subsequently interviews with staff at the site were conducted as well as observations in the concerned hospitals. The obtained results were analysed using the method of Qualitative Content Analysis. At a later stage, the results could be thematized into four categories; “​Need​”, “​Device​”, “​Training​” and “​Knowledge​”, which pinpointed the main issues. The study show that there was a common transversal issue of a inherent lack of devices, training and knowledge which in turn could severely affect the patients and their safety in ways such as misdiagnosis, delayed treatment and in worst cases death. Furthermore, it was evident that rather than the lack of actual devices, the absence of knowledge was more prevalent. / Oberoende på var än i världen man befinner sig, anses patientsäkerhet vara en av de viktigaste aspekterna i sjukvården. Å andra sidan, helt beroende på var man befinner sig kommer patientsäkerheten skilja sig och är därför lägesberoende. Patientsäkerheten i ett utvecklingsland kommer därför uppfattas på ett annat sätt i jämförelse med ett I-land. Denna studie syftar till att identifiera patientsäkerheten i Puntland, Somalia och med det dess vårdmiljö i sjukhusen. Målet var att identifiera huvudfaktorerna som påverkar patientsäkerheten. För att undersöka detta utfördes en fältstudie i den valda regionen Puntland, därefter gjordes intervjuer med personal på plats i sjukhusen och dessutom utfördes observationer. De erhållna resultaten analyserades med hjälp av metoden “Qualitative Content Analysis”. Vid ett senare skede tematiseras resultaten till fyra kategorier; “​Behov​”, “​Apparat​”, “​Utbildning​” och “​Kunskap​”, vilka visade på de huvudsakliga problemen. Studien visade slutligen på att det fanns ett gemensamt genomgående problem av brist på apparater, utbildning och kunskap, vilket i sin tur skulle kunna påverka patienter och deras säkerhet på sätt såsom feldiagnoser, försenad behandling och i värsta fall döden. Vidare fastställdes att snarare än bristen på apparater, var avsaknaden av kunskap mer påtaglig.

This thesis offers an explanation for why urban settlement in Somaliland's capital city of Hargeisa is segregated along clan lines. The topic of urban segregation has been neglected in both classic Somali studies, and recent studies of post-war state-building and governance in Somaliland. Such negligence of urban governance in debates over state-making stems from a predominant focus on national and regional levels, which overlooks the institutions governing cities. Yet urban governance can provide key insights into the nature and quality of interaction between people and the local state, and the processes of making and unmaking of Somali urban spaces. Given the rapid urban growth in the Somali populated territories, I propose a shift in focus to explore city spaces, as a means of deepening understanding of Somali social, political and spatial organisation. In advancing this proposed shift, the thesis scrutinises the nexus between governance and segregation in Hargeisa, drawing on urban ethnographic methods, interview and archival sources. I argue that segregation in the city can be understood as the spatial manifestation of governance practices across colonial and postcolonial periods, in intersection with bottom up processes, particularly the quest for security and peacebuilding in what is largely characterised as a hybrid order. The concept of hybrid governance – while capturing important aspects of control over city space - is often insufficiently historicised and politicised to convey the complex intersection of state institutions, clan and sub-clan allegiance and traditional authorities. My analysis thus situates recent urban governance and conflicts over land in a longer history of municipal governance, urban land administration and conflict adjudication. This historical perspective is important for the understanding of how segregation has been reproduced over time, and adds a new dimension to the understandings of the drivers and dynamics of Hargeisa's spatial character.

Thesis (M.A. in Security Studies (Europe and Eurasia))--Naval Postgraduate School, June 2010. / Thesis Advisor(s): Abenheim, Donald ; Yost, David S. "June 2010." Description based on title screen as viewed on July 14, 2010. Author(s) subject terms: European Union, comprehensive security, strategic planning, European security and defense policy, ESDP, common security and defense policy, CSDP, military operations, crisis management, EUFOR RD Congo, EUFOR Tchad/RCA, EUNAVFOR Somalia Includes bibliographical references (p. 83-98). Also available in print.

The purpose of IHL is to protect civilians and provide obligations that parties to the conflict are to adhere to. These obligations in case of a non-international armed conflict emanate from Common Article 3, Additional Protocol II and customary international humanitarian law. The reason for the imposition of these obligations on the parties to the conflict is for the need to protect the civilian population against the effects of hostilities which mostly are women and children. As the conflict in Somalia has gone on for too long, IHL plays an important role in protecting civilians. As the Geneva Conventions regulate armed conflicts together with its Additional Protocols they set out the requirements for the treatment of those not taking part in hostilities. In direct contravention of the Geneva Conventions by the parties to the conflict, the persons not taking part in hostilities have been the victims of attacks by armed groups. Even though armed groups have obligations, breaches have continued to occur resulting in impunity and perpetrators of violence have gone unpunished and there is need to close the accountability gap in respect of holding armed groups accountable in Somalia. The aim of this research is to assess how armed groups in Somalia can be held accountable for the atrocities they have committed. In an attempt to close the gap the researcher discusses the obligations that armed groups have, and when these obligations are breached many result in criminal accountability in respect of war crimes. It is also stated in the research that a State has an obligation to prosecute those in breach of IHL obligations. For prosecution to be possible in Somalia there is need for the Federal government of Somalia to adopt new legislation to enforce the justice system in the attempt to hold armed groups accountable and where possible to also utilise available courts as it is difficult and expensive to establish a tribunal. To end impunity armed groups are to be held accountable.

This study focuses on the Kenyan mediation of the Somali conflict and strategic intervention engagement between 2002 and 2012. The core aim of the study was to establish and evaluate the role and effects of track-one diplomacy on conflict management and post-conflict reconstruction as pertains to the Somali conflict and on the basis of the Kenyan experience. A qualitative approach was followed in this study. It employed a descriptive, explanatory and analytical case-study method. The data were collected through interviews and documentary analysis. The twenty-two participants in the study were drawn from the Kenyan Foreign Ministry, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the Regional Centre on Small Arms and Light Weapons (RECSA), the International Peace Support Training Centre (IPSTC), the East African Standby Force Co-ordination Mechanism (EASFCOM), the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), the United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS), the African Peace Forum Organization (APFO), and selected respondents representing the Somali people. The documents comprised policy treatises, protocols, treaties, and communiqués highlighting the actions of the Kenyan government and other track-one actors in the Somali peace endeavour. Other scholarly research on official diplomacy, soft-power and conflict management by small States – in particular African case studies – were also utilised. The study revealed that Kenya’s diplomatic and stabilisation efforts had their own dynamics and challenges. This is especially so with regard to the preferred policy option of exercising diplomacy that utilises soft-power resources. This diplomacy had to contend with the challenges of dealing with sensitive aspects of the process. These sensitive aspects involved a recognition of and complicated engagement with the Somali conflict-constituencies, and a complex mapping of various actors and their respective interests. Contrary to the expected outcomes, interests and issues 17 proliferated, and the original peace-making agenda was consistently slowed down and complicated. The study also revealed that Kenya ought to have exercised a non-directive role in dealing with the different Somali conflict players. This role provides that such an “interested mediator” ought to exercise some considerable influence over the mediation environment. It also emerged from the study that as pertains to the current peace-making developments in Somalia that began in 2005 onwards to 2012, it is important that different intermediary co-operative roles be recognized and utilised. Towards this end, the study recommends that Kenya’s diplomacy should adopt a strategy of co-operation with those regional regimes that it helped to establish. A case in reference is the diplomatic opportunity of utilising regional arms control and disarmament diplomacy. This is Kenya’s intermediary co-operative role with RECSA, which is mandated to support arms control and disarmament implementation efforts in the East African region. The study also recommends that strategic foreign policy and regional actions by Kenya should be taken up given its new lease of engagement, noting that it was officially integrated into AMISOM in 2012. The study posited that in the ongoing engagement environment there would be a ‘revisiting’ of the experiences and complexities of the first phase of engagement (2002-2004). It is, therefore, recommended that Kenya should seize this opportunity and continue with its ‘facilitative and enabling role’ in its peace diplomacy, while utilising the lessons learnt in past engagements.

Diametrically opposed forces, while independent, require the presence of the other to exist. Shadow is found through an absence of light. Earth exists as a result of the heavens, whether cosmologically or theologically. The following project explores dichotomies and the architectural elements that can span two disparate entities. The proposal for an embassy for Somalia strives to discover the threshold between the dualities of the Islamic faith and the profane environment. In the faith one must follow a path, whether physical or spiritual in order to find true enlightenment. By allowing the path of the thesis be the guide, the various elements of approach, entry, courtyard, garden and sacred spaces are illuminated as the thresholds between these diametrically opposed forces of public | private, heaven | earth, sacred | profane. / Master of Architecture

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Münster, 2001. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 274-290).