There are major challenges in transitioning towards state-led crisis response in Somalia. These include the outsized role of aid and incentive structures that impede the transition towards state leadership.

This paper examines the prospects for shifting from aid-centred to state-led crisis response in Somalia and Somaliland. It is grounded in political economy dynamics, including the role of aid, that are deeply consequential and typically antithetical to realising and sustaining state leadership. The analysis is guided by near universal agreement across interviewed stakeholders that the status quo is untenable and the need for change is urgent, yet long-term vision and substantive change remain elusive.

Report by the Overseas Development Institute 

This paper forms part of HPG’s multi-country research agenda on state-led crisis response, building upon studies in Indonesia, Kenya, Myanmar and the Philippines