The political economy of the media in the Somali conflict

Abstract

This article explores the political economy of the media in the context of weak formal state institutions in Somalia. Drawing on literature examining the political economy of war, the authors argue that, rather than being either a system of anarchy or a system in which journalists strive to serve normative functions of a fourth estate, the media in Somalia have their own internal logic that operates according to local norms and rules. This accounts for the media's ability to continue to grow despite the serious security concerns and the absence of strong state institutions and regulations, as well as predictable and regular revenue.

[L’économie politique des médias dans le conflit somalien.] Cet article explore l’économie politique des médias dans le contexte d’institutions étatiques formelles faibles en Somalie. A partir de la littérature sur l’économie politique de la guerre, l’article soutient que plutôt que d’être soit un système d’anarchie soit un système dans lequel les journalistes se battent pour remplir des fonctions normatives d’un quatrième pouvoir, les médias en Somalie ont leur propre logique interne qui opère selon des normes et des règles locales. Ceci explique sa capacité à continuer à grandir malgré les inquiétudes sérieuses en matière de sécurité et l’absence d’institutions et de règlements étatiques forts, ainsi que de recettes prévisibles et régulières.

Keywords:

• Somalia
• media and conflict
• political economy of media
• violence
• failed states
• politics

Mots-clés:

• reproduction sociale
• femmes de Marikana
• travaux ménagers
• travail dans les mines
• maîtresse
• main d’œuvre

Acknowledgements

We are grateful for the support of Adan Mohamud Hussein during the research. We would also like to thank Iginio Gagliardone, Dane Degenstein and two anonymous reviewers for their helpful input.

Notes on contributors

Nicole Stremlau is Head of the Programme in Comparative Media Law and Policy and a Fellow at Wolfson College at the University of Oxford. Her research focuses on the role of media and ICTs in conflict in Eastern Africa and questions of governance, law and state building in the region.

Emanuele Fantini is a Research Fellow at the Department of Cultures, Politics and Society, University of Turin, Italy. His research focuses on the political sociology of state formation in Ethiopia; the political economy and the moral economy of water with a focus on privatisation of water services and transnational water movements; and media, politics and conflicts in Africa.

Ridwan M. Osman is a doctoral candidate at Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge, UK. His research focuses on citizenship and education for citizenship in Somaliland, the relevance of Somali traditions for modern governance and education, and the role of media in contemporary Somali politics and conflict.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The authors have explored media in Somaliland in previous research. See, for example, Stremlau (2013b).

2. The role of the diaspora in supporting the media is central and can take different forms. It is not always direct investment in the radio station but many journalists are reliant on remittances and some families may regard these contributions as supporting the media work of their family members. Family frequently make contributions in kind, such as developing and managing a website for a media outlet. In some cases the founders of the radio station who may have been from the diaspora but are no longer living in Somalia continue to subsidise the station after they leave.

3. These objectives were reported by our interviewees. The first objective was cited by the Editor of Radio Daljir, the Vice-Director of Radio Goobjoog and the Director of Radio Al-Risala; the second by the Chairman of Radio Voice of Peace and the Director of Radio Bar-Kulan; the third by the Manager of Star FM; and the fourth by the Director of Radio Simba and the Director of Radio Dhusamareb.

4. There is also a similarly strong link between media and politics in Somaliland. In 2011, for example, when the Kulmiye Party came to power some sympathetic journalists were given posts at the Ministry of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the President's Office.

5. Baafin refers to the radio programmes that Somali families call to search for relatives who were children, mentally ill or emotionally disturbed, and who went missing during the civil war.