Opinion: Somali Unity — A Pillar of Stability in the Horn of Africa and Arab National Security

“Somalia’s unity is not merely a constitutional entitlement or a political demand, but a necessity dictated by geography, security, economic interests and the stability of the entire region.”-- Mohamed Al-Amin Sheikh Osman

Not all countries carry the same weight in the calculus of geography. Some nations can retreat behind their borders without attracting much attention from the outside world. Others are destined by their location to stand at the heart of events, their geography becoming a political reality from which they cannot escape.

Somalia is one of those countries to which geography has denied the luxury of isolation. Instead, it has placed it at the crossroads of civilizations, trade and empires, where the Indian Ocean meets the Red Sea, the African coastline faces the Arab shore, and the interests of East and West intersect across a territory that may appear small on maps but looms large in the calculations of history and politics.

For this reason, reducing the question of Somali unity to a domestic matter or a political dispute among the people of one nation amounts to an incomplete reading of the country’s reality. Somalia is not merely a state seeking to protect its borders; it is a pillar of security in the Horn of Africa, a key component of Red Sea security and a natural extension of the Arab world’s strategic depth.

What happens in Somalia therefore extends far beyond its political borders, affecting the security of the wider region and even the global economy, a significant share of whose trade passes through the waters off Somalia’s coast.

Countries, of course, do not choose their locations, but they do choose how to deal with them. The geography that has given Somalia this exceptional position has also exposed it to competition among major powers, from the partition of its territories by colonial powers at the end of the nineteenth century to the present day, as the region remains an arena of intense regional and international rivalry — regrettably, one of history’s enduring paradoxes.

In this context, I believe that preserving Somalia’s unity is not simply about defending national territory, as states naturally do; it is also about safeguarding the geopolitical balance in one of the world’s most sensitive regions.

The Legacy of Partition and the Importance of Preserving Unity#

The colonial partition of Somalia left behind a heavy legacy of fragmented territory and frustrated a long-held Somali aspiration: to bring the Somali people together within a single state united by land, identity and destiny.

That partition also weakened national identity, complicated border disputes and fuelled a number of internal conflicts. Its consequences remained among the factors that weakened state institutions and helped create the conditions that ultimately led to the collapse of the state in 1991.

From this perspective, Somalia, having historically endured the bitterness and consequences of fragmentation, needs today more than ever to preserve its national and territorial unity and avoid any path that could reproduce the divisions that have burdened it for decades.

Further fragmentation will not heal the wounds of the past; it risks opening new ones. Somalia’s unity and stability therefore remain fundamental pillars of its security and future, as well as of stability across its wider regional environment.

Somalia and Efforts to Undermine Its Sovereignty#

Attempts to undermine Somalia’s sovereignty over the past decade have not merely been passing disagreements with some neighbouring countries. Rather, they have represented a direct challenge to the unity of the state and its right to exercise sovereignty over all its territory and territorial waters.

This was evident in the signing of maritime memoranda of understanding with entities within Somalia without the approval of the Federal Government, actions that Mogadishu regarded as a clear infringement on the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Faced with these challenges, Somalia did not respond through escalation. Instead, it confronted them with political resolve, diplomatic firmness and reliance on international law, stressing that national sovereignty is never open to compromise.

When Somalia Is Stable, the Horn of Africa Is Stable#

Anyone examining the map of the Horn of Africa quickly realizes that Somalia is not a country on the region’s periphery. It is its maritime heart, its eastern gateway and the link connecting Africa to the Indian Ocean and the Arab world.

Any disruption affecting the Somali state therefore does not remain confined within its borders. Its repercussions spread in successive waves to Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti and Eritrea, affecting border security, trade flows and the stability of communities.

The past three decades have taught us that the collapse of the Somali state was not merely a national crisis, but a regional crisis in every sense. From the security vacuum emerged extremist groups; human- and arms-smuggling networks expanded; irregular migration increased; and borders became open corridors for every form of organized crime.

Neighbouring countries were not immune to these consequences. They paid a heavy price to protect their national security and were forced to devote enormous resources to confronting threats that might have been avoided had there been a stable and capable Somali state.

For this reason, Somalia’s unity should not be understood solely as a national demand, but as a shared strategic interest of all the countries of the Horn of Africa.

The Red Sea: Its Security Begins in Somalia#

It is no exaggeration to say that Red Sea security begins in Somalia. A country with Africa’s longest coastline, overlooking the Gulf of Aden and the southern approaches to Bab el-Mandeb, cannot be excluded from the maritime security equation.

In recent years, this region has become one of the world’s most sensitive arenas due to intensifying international competition, growing threats to commercial navigation and its direct connection to energy security and global supply chains.

Amid these transformations, Somalia stands out as an indispensable partner in protecting this vital maritime passage. The experience of piracy demonstrated that the absence of a functioning Somali state did not threaten Somalis alone; it dealt a severe blow to the global economy, increased shipping and insurance costs, and forced major powers to deploy their naval fleets to the region. It was a lesson of profound significance.

Somalia and the Arab World’s Strategic Depth#

The Red Sea has long been viewed by Arabs as an Arab strategic space. Yet such a perspective remains incomplete if it overlooks the African shore opposite it. The two shores are not separate; they form a single security system, and any disruption on one side quickly reverberates across the other.