The Making of the 1990 Manifesto: Somalia's Last Chance for State Survival

The Somali elites' attempt in 1990 to save their society from dissolution has been all but forgotten since Somalia's government collapsed in 1991; their failure remains a neglected theme in Somali studies. This study examines an attempt made months before the fall of the Somali military regime in January 1991. The study treats such a community-led endeavor as a missed chance that Somalia could have been prevented from plunging into a complete collapse, the phenomenon of all against all that is yet prevalent in Somalia. It departs the question of what can the history of the final months before the 'civil' war tell us about the alternatives that local actors envisioned? The study argues that to seek a solution to what is currently occurring in Somalia, a glance of history is necessary.