The 2013 London Conference on Somalia: “New Deal” but old principles? #Somalia2013

While the Communiqué that came out of the 2013 London Conference on Somalia reiterated the formal agreement on the “New Deal” initiative on aid effectiveness, it appears to have ultimately restricted the Somali government’s political room for manoeuvre. This largely results from the summit’s emphasis on outcomes over processes, which not only jeopardises the ‘New Deal’, but risks complicating rather than facilitating Somalia’s state-making project in the near future, argues LSE alumnus & post-doctoral research fellow at Chatham House, Dominik Balthasar.