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Constituting Development in Somaliland. Development, Democracy, and Institution-Building Mercatus Center George Mason University October 7, 2009 Sujai Shivakumar PhD Board on Science, Technology and Economic Policy The National Academies. The 21 st Century Challenge. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Constituting Development in Somaliland
Development, Democracy, and Institution-Building
Mercatus CenterGeorge Mason UniversityOctober 7, 2009
Sujai Shivakumar PhDBoard on Science, Technology and Economic PolicyThe National Academies
Sujai Shivakumar PhD2
The 21st Century Challenge
Numerous independent nation states emerged in the 20th Century… End of European Imperialism Marxist-Leninist Revolutionary Struggles
..but many have not succeeded Development Failures, State Failures Plunder and Pillage; Humanitarian Crises
How to achieve democratic governance in the 21st Century? How do we achieve stable, self-governing societies? How do we address the Challenge of Development?
Sujai Shivakumar PhD3
Whether human societies are capable of establishing good government from refection and choice, or whether they are destined to depend for their political constitutions on accident and force
Alexander Hamilton, The Federalist
The Constitutional Challenge
Sujai Shivakumar PhD4
Focus on Somaliland
Sujai Shivakumar PhD5
Sujai Shivakumar PhD6
Somali Society
Clan structure remains the bedrock foundation of the pastoral Somali society The primacy of clan interests is its natural divisive reflection
at the political level. The viability of the blood compensation paying group depends
primarily on how wealthy the members are. As long there is a social need for the dia-paying group, the
traditional structures will persist. Somali customary laws
Xeer can be contracted into - and out of – and, according to need, contracts can be abrogated, modified, rescinded or new ones made.
Basis of new Somaliland constitution
Sujai Shivakumar PhD7
A Recent History of Somaliland (in Brief)
British Somaliland (1899-1960) Ruled from British India; Provided security to the Suez Canal and safety for
the Empire's vital naval routes through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden Briefly conquered by the Italians during WWII
Merger with Somalia 1967 Coup by Siad Barre, who instituted a Marxist regime, and became a
close ally of the Soviet Union Disenchantment with Somalia as SL is marginalized in government
Civil War 1981- 1990: Somali National Movement seeks to topple Barre Barre responds with areal bombings
Independence (1991) Somaliland asserts independence—Still remains unrecognized Inter-clan conflict continues through mid-1990s Peace conference (1993) and gradual fall in violence; Rebuilding begins Mid to late1990s—New Constitution adopted
Sujai Shivakumar PhD8
Today’ Presentation
Institutions and Development Development as Adaptive wellbeing through Collective
Action Institutions as Technologies for Successful Collective
Action
Assessing the State as an Institution Limits of State-led Development
Role of Democracy in Development Constituting Somaliland
“Starting from Here”
Institutions and Development
Technologies for Successful Collective Action
Sujai Shivakumar PhD10
The Meaning of Development
Development concerns the realization of our adaptive wellbeing through productive association with others
Institutions matter for development Represent a shared understanding of rules needed
for collective action We need to recognize and renew these shared
institutional resources Many assume state provides institutional basis for
development
Sujai Shivakumar PhD11
State Governance & Development
Traditional Interpretation: Development as Transformation Features of a “developing” country Features of a
“developed” country Aid to facilitate this process by filling gaps
Role of the State is to transform society from developing to developed status Agents of state to formulate and administer policies Constitution typically recognized as a charter describing
the organization of the state and legitimizing coercion by the state
The State often does not provide the institutional basis for this transformation
Sujai Shivakumar PhD12
What is an Institution?
They are rules, socially considered By structuring human interaction, they
Help each anticipate the actions of others Reduce uncertainty, promote coordination and
cooperation To be successful, rules must be
Reliable—triggering consistently in similar circumstances
Recognizable—subject to broad awareness Non-arbitrary—seemingly dependant on general
principles
Sujai Shivakumar PhD13
Institutions and Development
Institutions are important because successful collective action is needed for growth and development We need to cooperate successfully to grow food,
build roads, maintain safe neighborhoods, etc. Successful collective action also needed to craft and
maintain rules of the market and collective decision-making
When the social technologies for collective action are kept in good repair, we are better off Citizens are better equipped to solve problems Well maintained institutions ensure our improved
adaptive well being
Sujai Shivakumar PhD14
Addressing Collective Action Situations lies at the Heart of Development
Collective Action Situations exist where contributions from multiple actors are required to produce joint outcomes
Collective Action Problems occur when unresolved Motivation Problems and Information Problems
…create sub-optimal outcomes
Sujai Shivakumar PhD15
Motivation problems
Social Dilemmas: Potential conflict between individual gain and collective benefits Provision of public goods (public safety, health,
knowledge, etc.) Provision and maintenance of common-pool
resources (protection of forests, wildlife, species, lakes, rivers, oceans, atmosphere)
If benefits can be obtained by an actor without contributing, temptation always exists to free ride on the efforts of others. May also face overuse.
Sujai Shivakumar PhD16
Information problems
Missing information Time and Place Knowledge Knowledge of local realities, rules, and
relationships Asymmetric information
Moral Hazard Principle-agent problems Signaling Problems Fiscal Illusion (Policy Context)
Societies around the world have variously developed institutional solutions to these problems
Are these problem-solving technologies still relevant?
Sujai Shivakumar PhD18
An example of an Institutional Solution to a Free Rider Problem
Free riders are those who seek to benefit from the actions of others without contributing their share of the effort
Solution: Ubudehe in Rwanda Ubudehe is rooted in a long history of inclusive
community participation in tilling fields for planting crops
Found among the Hutu and Tutsi communities in Rwanda, long before genocide of the 1990s
Sujai Shivakumar PhD19
An example of an Institutional Solution to a “Tragedy of the Commons” Problem
The Tragedy of the Commons refers to a failure of cooperation in the shared use of a Common Pool Resource When needed institutions are absent, individuals
may be motivated to use more than their share of a limited but openly available resource
Leads to non-sustainable use and degradation Solution: Xeer in Somalia
Expectations for arrangements to share scarce grazing land and water sources among nomadic pastoralists in northern Somalia
Sujai Shivakumar PhD20
People everywhere face challenges of collective action
In developed countries, well adapted networks of institutions generally lead to productive outcomes
In poor countries, individuals often face negative incentives, making it difficult to invest in economic activities Provide public goods Improve communally held resources
This failure of social cooperation is rooted in a variety of social dilemmas that remain unsolved—there are no relevant institutions
Sujai Shivakumar PhD21
Crafting Solutions to Collective Action Problems
A Complex task… Collective Action Problems are often highly
localized Social dilemmas are numerous and often difficult to
diagnose Different interests and theories about working
properties of rules can make agreement difficult …but one that is necessary
Existence of institutions like ubudehe and xeer show that it is possible
Sujai Shivakumar PhD22
Crafting Solutions to Collective Action Problems
Improving development requires a focus on the multiple contexts within which citizens can identify and craft solutions to problems of collective actionThis perspective differs from the State-
centered approach to development
Sujai Shivakumar PhD23
Ideology of the State
The State as the Preeminent Tool for DevelopmentRulership
• unity of power to maintain unity of law critical for social harmony—Hobbes
Governance• Bureaucratic Public Administration—Weber &
Wilson• Aggregate data Develop Policy Implement
Policy This ideology still widely articulated
But is the State competent to address the range of collective action problems facing its subjects?
Sujai Shivakumar PhD24
Is the State Competent?
The Knowledge Problem Agents of the state cannot gain “knowledge of time and
place”—Friedrich Hayek
The Motivation Problem Possibility of self-seeking and opportunistic agents of the state
—James Buchanan
The Intellectual Crisis of Public Administration Ideology of state stifles modes of creative inquiry and
participation among citizens in solving problems of collective action —Vincent Ostrom
Sujai Shivakumar PhD25
Failures of the Ideology of the State
The emphasis on state-led development has often ruined capabilities for locally based problem-solving
The results have often been catastrophic Rwanda
• Indigenous institutions like ubudehe have been overlooked in favor of the “modernizing” potential of the state
• Resulting deterioration of networks of trust contributed to the genocide
Somalia• UN imposed constitution failed to account for local
institutional resources, like xeer• Somali rulers exploited indigenous institutions to stay in
power, fraying the constitutional fabric of society• Resulting in famine, civil war, state collapse
Sujai Shivakumar PhD26
What is the alternative?
Begin with the recognition that failures of development are rooted in institutional failures The state often does not address underlying
problems of collective action Organization of state often fosters perverse
incentives of its own Need to develop an alternate approach to the
puzzle of development One based on a deeper understanding of
democracy and constitutional government
The Meaning of Democracy
Foundations of Constitutional Governance
Sujai Shivakumar PhD28
The Role of Democracy in Development
Democracy concerns the norms of inclusion in public discourse and decision makingParticipation and Debate
• Ensures that policy decisions draw on knowledge that individuals have of their own time and place
Consensus• Helps strengthen common understandings about
new decisions and rules—creating an institutional basis for successful collective action
Sujai Shivakumar PhD29
Centralized Democracy?
Popular view equates democracy with elections of representatives to a national government Some believe that party politics associated with
elections interfere with State’s ability to govern wisely
Idea underpins current efforts in “Nation-Building” Centralized democracy can lead to ‘political
free-riding’ that stifles local initiative and problem-solving Tocqueville
Sujai Shivakumar PhD30
Polycentric Governance
Tocqueville, in Democracy in America, described a system of: Multiple overlapping arenas of political authority Various scales, from community organizations, to
state government to national government Governance structures are adaptive framework for
problem-solving World Wide Web is a modern example Role of public entrepreneurship in seeking solutions
to problems of collective action
Sujai Shivakumar PhD31
Foundations of Constitutional Governance
Constitutionally Constrained Democratic Governance Focus on collective action within institutional
constraints Citizens addressing their common needs through
the freedom to integrate their actions with those of others within crafted rules and innovated institutional arrangements
The Challenge: Crafting a system of interlinked problem-solving arenas
Achieving a Self-Governing Civilization
Starting from Here
Building on Indigenous Institutional Foundations
Sujai Shivakumar PhD33
Starting from “here”—Why?
We have to deal with indigenous institutions because they represent existing communities of understanding Yet, we must recognize that evolved
institutional forms, presented as indigenous or traditional do not necessarily denote optimal or even acceptable solutions to prevailing collective action problems
Sujai Shivakumar PhD34
Starting from “here”—How?
Challenge lies in developing and modifying existing rules and constitutional amenities Need to harness more effectively the
problem solving potentials latent in various locally focused indigenous institutions
Need to draw on existing mechanisms/ shared concepts to encourage rule change
Normative bases for rules—conjectural evolutionary claims
Sujai Shivakumar PhD35
Reviving indigenous capabilities for problem-solving
Ubudehe is being revived in Rwanda today Focused on cellule level to rebuild local institutions
and to encourage individuals to solve problems in association with each other
Xeer is underpinning new governance structures in Somaliland Concept of covenanting now used to craft and
maintain collective action institutions A major Challenge of Development is to draw on
such indigenous practices in crafting capabilities for self-governance
Sujai Shivakumar PhD36
Crafting Capabilities for Self-governance in Somaliland
A challenging environment Civil conflict following the collapse of the Somali State Clan-on-clan violence exacerbated by destruction of
common pool resources Recognizing the underlying collective action problem
Tragedy of the Commons Conflict over Resources Leveraging existing institutional capital: “Xeer”
Traditional ad hoc arrangements to share grazing land and water sources among nomadic pastoralists in northern Somalia
Action-Aid drew on clan traditions to craft new institutional arrangements before delivering aid
Sujai Shivakumar PhD37
Constituting Somaliland
Today, Xeer is underpinning new governance structures in SomalilandConcept of covenanting now used to
craft and maintain collective action institutions at various levels
The broader Challenge for Development in Africa and elsewhere is to draw on such indigenous practices in crafting capabilities for self-governance
Sujai Shivakumar PhD38
Somaliland’s “Success” The chaos in Somalia obscures a remarkable political
development in Somaliland. Somaliland, which declared its independence in
1991, has held three consecutive competitive elections since
2001, has a parliament with opposition parties, and boasts a growing economy propelled by the private
sector. The key to its success
The integration into politics of traditional Somali models of governance by consultation and consent
A contrast to the standard development paradigm
To Conclude
Achieving a Self-Governing Civilization
Sujai Shivakumar PhD40
Achieving a Self-Governing Civilization
Alexander Hamilton Presumption that societies of men and women can
choose good government through reflection and choice
Federalism as the foremost theory of citizenship Alexis de Tocqueville
A new age of democracy will only succeed to the degree that it developed a new science of politics that is based on principles of association, rather than on the ideology of state
Sujai Shivakumar PhD41
Achieving a Self-Governing Civilization for the 21st Century
The challenge of Constitutional Political Economy lies in looking beyond the ideology of state governance
Need to understand the nature of collective undertakings with reference to:Multiple levels of governanceMultiple sources of adaptation
Thank you
Sujai Shivakumar, PhDThe National Academies500 Fifth Street NWWashington DC 20001Tel: 202 334 1337Email: [email protected]
Sujai Shivakumar PhD43
Agenda for Future Research: Recovering from State Failure
Analyze link between Institutional conditions and Development Sustainability Impact on Aid on Successful Collective Action
Study local institutions and local governance structures Recognize role of indigenous institutions Modernize institutions to address contemporary
challenges Reconciling Bottom-up and Top-down governance
Incentives to recognize and nurture local/indigenous institutions
Training in Institutional Analysis Build capacity to recognize and leverage existing
institutional potentials
Sujai Shivakumar PhD44
Publications
The Constitution of DevelopmentCrafting Capabilities for Self Governance
• Palgrave Macmillan
The Samaritan’s DilemmaThe Political Economy of Development Aid
• With Elinor Ostrom, Clark Gibson and Krister Andersson
• Oxford University Press