Somali law

Please don't snigger yet. I found this most interesting article that defies the conventional view of Somalia, not as an anarchic wasteland, but a highly structured and traditional society. The basis of the countries laws are tribal, and unless you belong to a tribe, you do not exist. Hence killing a tourist has zero implications.

I quote:
Nevertheless, since 1991, the United Nations has made efforts to promote the establishment of a democratic government in Somalia. Van Notten strongly argues that such government is incompatible with the Somali customary law, which prizes life, liberty, and property. He asserts that democracy is not even a viable option:

"When the electorate is composed of close-knit tribal, religious, linguistic or ethnic communities, the people invariably vote, not on the merits of any issue, but for the party of their own community. The community with the greatest numbers wins the election, and the minority parties then put rebellion and secession at the top of their political agenda. That is nothing but a recipe for chaos." (van Notten, 127; 2005)

Questions arise as to rampageous warlords when discussing a country without a central government. Van Notten explains that warlords exist because of the efforts to form a central government, not because of its absence:

"A democratic government has every power to exert dominion over people. To fend off the possibility of being dominated, each clan tries to capture the power of that government before it can become a threat. Those clans that didn't share in the spoils of political power would realize their chances of becoming part of the ruling alliance were nil. Therefore, they would rebel and try to secede. That would prompt the ruling clans to use every means to suppress these centrifugal forces… in the end all clans would fight with one another." (van Notten, 136; 2005)

A very interesting look at what we could get soon, once the central government fails then we are indeed left to our own "clans" .. be they blood, belief or geography, that will cause us to form new social groupings.

I've joined the local blockwatch, and what i've seen so far is phenomenal, how in the total obsence of effective policing, people take over, and do what needs to be done.