By identifying the critical central contradictions that are built into the politics of the Horn of Africa, this book demonstrates that the crises of the Horn states stem from their political behavior and structural forces, such as internal social forces, and global forces that have become involved on the sides of these states without requiring accountability, the rule of law, or the implementation of, at least, 'limited democracy'.

Acute political, social, cultural and economic crises in the Horn states, and the policy response to them, have contributed to social unrest, state conflicts and national movements. The Horn states have drastically failed to solve these crises and conflicts, and fail to provide protection and basic social services to the majority of their respective peoples. Consequently the peoples of the region have been exposed to recurrent wars and famines, absolute poverty, disastrous diseases, genocide, and continued subjugation and suffer under state-terrorism and global tyranny.

At the beginning of the twenty-first century, the disintegration of the Somali states, and the failures of the Ethiopian, Sudanese and Djibouti states to fulfill their governmental obligations, raise serious theoretical and practical problems for academics, policy analysts, and policy makers on regional and global levels. The contributors provide a deep understanding of structural and conjunctural forces that have interacted in the processes of state power; the role of intervention of global powers; and the consequent failure to build state as a public domain. The book also enriches our social scientific knowledge that is essential to develop pragmatic policy measures to address these problems.

This book will be of great interest to policy makers and international organizations as well as researchers and students of politics and international relations.