The political entrepreneur, not quite the jihadist takeover

On 8 November 2021, the well-known Somalia analyst, Matt Bryden, published a provocative piece on the political direction being taken under the country’s current leadership. While there is much that we agree with in Bryden’s polemic, we wish to challenge the underling argument concerning the ‘quiet jihadist takeover’ of his title and the ‘Talibanisation of Somalia’ suggested in the narrative. These are very strong tropes that feed into a Western-centric, securitised view of Somalia that, we argue, are both over-stated and dangerous. In Somalia, among other things, this has created perverse financial incentives for proliferating private security actors, provided greater rent-seeking opportunities, and fuelled resentment against external intervention, while resulting in little concrete progress in improving security for ordinary citizens.