Building states while fighting terror: contradictions in United States Strategy in Somalia from 2001 to 2007

The report argues that the US strategy of combining counter-terrorism with state building in Somalia, lacking local knowledge and long-term planning, is likely to incite a violent backlash. It highlights how the US securitised 'failed states' as terrorism sources, leading to actions such as paying warlords to track al-Qa’eda and providing tacit support for the Ethiopian invasion in 2006. The author contends that only a shift toward regional diplomacy and civilian peacebuilding can restrain the current violence.

• The combination of counter-terrorism and state building in Somalia is likely to trigger a violent reaction because it lacks long-term planning and local knowledge.
• US policy has treated 'failed states' as security threats and sources of terrorism, using state building as a primary counter-terrorism tactic.
• Between 2001 and 2007, US actions in Somalia included paying Mogadishu warlords to target al-Qa’eda and suspected Islamists, and providing tacit support for Ethiopia's invasion in 2006.
• The author suggests that the only viable way to reduce violence in Somalia is through a significant shift toward civilian peacebuilding and increased regional diplomacy.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (n.d.). Building states while fighting terror: contradictions in United States Strategy in Somalia from 2001 to 2007. https://issafrica.org/research/monographs/building-states-while-fighting-terror-contradictions-in-united-states-strategy-in-somalia-from-2001-to-2007

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. Building states while fighting terror: contradictions in United States Strategy in Somalia from 2001 to 2007. n.d. https://issafrica.org/research/monographs/building-states-while-fighting-terror-contradictions-in-united-states-strategy-in-somalia-from-2001-to-2007.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=Building states while fighting terror: contradictions in United States Strategy in Somalia from 2001 to 2007 |url=https://issafrica.org/research/monographs/building-states-while-fighting-terror-contradictions-in-united-states-strategy-in-somalia-from-2001-to-2007 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudiesndbuilding, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{Building states while fighting terror: contradictions in United States Strategy in Somalia from 2001 to 2007}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.org/research/monographs/building-states-while-fighting-terror-contradictions-in-united-states-strategy-in-somalia-from-2001-to-2007}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }