![]() ![]() The region has an abundance of arable land and a long coast along the Indian Ocean, which is rich in natural resources. ![]() The people were mainly pastoral nomads bestowed with rare uniformity of belief in the Islamic religion and language. The geography of Somalia has been strategic since the ancient times and remains so in the contemporary period. This period is characterized by the ascendency of segmented clan-based sultanates, city-states, and the revival of Sufi orders. The modern history of Somalia began in the 18th century, about two centuries after the collapse of the Ajuran sultanate and before the European scramble for Africa. The new revival of Somali nationalism is mounting with cultural sensitivities and new conception for Greater Somalia. It possesses natural and organic ingredients that sustain its viability and rejuvenate its identity, such as in Somalia’s ethnic and linguistic homogeneity and common Islamic faith. Even so, Somali nationalism did not die but suffered great losses as a result of the flawed emotional approaches and elite competition for political power. Consequently, the Somali state was collapsed in 1991. Moreover, successive Somali governments pursued moderate approaches to realize nationalist goals, nonetheless, the war with Ethiopia in 1977-78 was suicidal and marked the beginning of the downfall and the ruinations of the first fruits of Somali nationalism, the Somali state. ![]() The formative period of Somali nationalism coincided with the poisonous atmosphere of the Cold War after WWII and was implicated by the competing super powers and regional states interested in the Somali strategic geographic location. It was also a modernizing project against tradition, which aimed to reform segmented clannish society by diminishing its role, marginalizing its leadership. The Somali nationalism has emerged as anti-colonial and cultural nationalism and its beginning was romantic and idealistic, aiming for the liberation of the Somali people under the rule of multiple colonial powers and uniting them in one Greater Somalia state. ![]()
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