Of Tribes & States: Understanding Djibouti's Position in the Horn
Making sense of its relationships with its neighbours through the lens of history, nationalism and tribal politics
Some Context & History
Before the arrival of the Europeans in the Horn of Africa, people were broadly organised along tribal/clan lines and enjoyed their independent sovereignty. This tribal organisation would occasionally be source of potential inter & intra-ethnic conflict. However, despite these tensions, the various tribes would be organised into kingdoms & sultanates, co-exist in relative peace and trade with one another for centuries (circa. 1500s-1800s).
This would change with the arrival of the Europeans, who would effectively carve out pieces of land within the Horn in their imperialist quests. Members of the same clan & tribe would see themselves separated across different colonies as the kingdoms & sultanates grew fragile owing to several natural disasters among other factors.
Undoubtedly, this separation would flame the fires of inter & intra-ethnic conflict, and would be the cause of many civil wars in the Horn after the acquisition of independence, which we will touch upon.
Leading up to the decolonisation of Djibouti, which was termed "The French Territory of the Afars & Issas", Somalis & Afars on the council would deliberate as to how to proceed with the decolonisation process. Afars & some Issa Somalis were broadly in favour of a separate nation, whereas the remainder of Issa Somalis would be in favour of joining their fellow Somali brothers & sisters in establishing a united Somali Republic. This sentiment would shift with Siad Barre's military coup in 1969, and both Issa Somalis & Afars of “The French Territory of Afars & Issas” would broadly be in favour of a separate nation - Djibouti.
At this point, the young Djibouti was at an important crossroad and had to grapple with fundamental questions which will shape it's relationship with it's new neighbouring countries which comprised of Somalis & Afars too across Ethiopia, Somalia & Eritrea. These questions included the following:
How can it reconcile the tribal identity of the Afars & Issa Somalis, in which they have been organised within, with the new national one?
Can allegiance to the ethnic group/tribe co-exist with allegiance to the Nation? Or are they mutually exclusive?
Will allegiance to the State/Nation have to supersede that of the tribe for the nation to flourish?
These questions are by no means easy to answer due to the complex histories & relationships between the ethnic groups in the region.
The dominant Issa Somali clan in Djibouti spans across Northern Somaliland & Eastern Ethiopia, and many government figures in Djibouti would be born in these territories, or are 1st gen "Djiboutians" as their parents "migrated" from these regions. This is the same with the Afar ethnic group, as they span Southern Eritrea & North Eastern Ethiopia.
Territory inhabited by Somalis (Pintrest)
Territory inhabited by Afars (Wikipedia)
This intersection of ethnicity and nationality will guide the young nation in it's foreign & domestic decision-making process. This toxic combination would allow clans to use the instruments of government to oppress other clans/ethnic groups while holding down their own.
In the second part, I’ll be providing brief overviews of Djibouti’s historical relationships with its neighbours in the Horn. This is in no way a detailed account of historical events which has been subject to lengthy discussion for decades. This would hopefully allow you, the reader, have a better understanding of the current affairs from a Djiboutian perspective and the motivations behind their decisions.
Relationship with Eritrea
Eritrea would have a rocky relationship with Ethiopia, as following the departure of the British & Italians, Ethiopia would seek to annex the region in the 50s. This would be followed by a 30 year stretch of intermittent violence and wars, ending with Eritrea finally gaining their independence in 1992. Djibouti would remain broadly impartial during this stretch, but would amplify and deepen its trade with Ethiopia as they were now landlocked. This would take Djibouti's port & logistics industry to the next level and inch them closer to monopolising imports to Ethiopia.
Eventually, Djibouti would lock horns themselves with Eritrea over border disputes at Ras Doumeirah. This border dispute is a remnant of colonial land demarcation between the French & the Italians. This conflict would see a war breakout at the border in 2008 following mounting tensions between the two. Despite France providing Djibouti with military intelligence, Eritrea would take control of the disputed territory, eventually engaging in a peacekeeping deal with Qatar being the arbitrators. Read more here.
This period of heightened tensions between Eritrea & Djibouti would give Djiboutian authorities an opportunity to squash domestic political opponents, prominent members would be accused of colluding with foreign powers to undermine the moral of the State and army. Expectedly, Djiboutian Afars living in the North of the country would also be stigmatised, alienated and accused of colluding with the enemy. Curfews would be put into place by the government in northern afar-dominated cities - which would prompt criticism and discontent.
Since, Djibouti would be reluctant to normalise relations with Eritrea, but would begrudgingly cede and side with Ethiopia who spearheaded negotiations with Eritrea - winning him the Nobel Peace Prize. Djibouti were reluctant for 2 reasons.
Because of their history & ethnicity
Normalising relations would provide Ethiopia another corridor to import their goods - Djibouti will no longer enjoy their monopoly on Ethiopia's imports.
This would eat away at the prospective profits of Djibouti's massive infrastructure projects and cause big problems in the future.
Relationship with Somalia & Somaliland
Djibouti's relationship with Somalia would broadly have close relations owing to their shared histories & ethnic composition. Leading up to decolonisation (c. 1950s-1960s), many Issa Somalis would be in favour of joining Somalia in establishing a united Somali Republic, one of the key members of this movement were Mahmoud Harbi - who mysteriously died in a plane crash.
But the ascension of Siad Barre to power would deter Issa Somalis who were in favour of a united Somalia and push them to establish an independent nation with the Afars who they had a shared a history and identity under colonial rule.
Following independence, Issa Somalis would quickly dominate key areas of government in Djibouti and their attitudes & policies towards Somalia would be one informed by this shared ethnicity, called Somalinimo (Somaliness).
For example, during the Ethio-Somali war of 1977-1978, a war between The Ethiopian Derg socialists & Somali Democratic Republic over the disputed territory of Ogaden, a densely Somali populated region in modern-day Ethiopia (disputed), Djibouti would provide military intelligence to the Democratic Republic. This war would see socialist & communist Soviet Union, China & Cuba deploy troops to assist the Derg military regime. The Somali Democractic Republic would lose this war, and this loss coupled with internal factors would precipitate the downfall of the Democratic Republic and clan-based genocide which would see the killing and displacing 100,000s.
Djibouti would initially welcome refugees, but would quickly become frustrated as they didn't have the bandwidth to take in the sheer number of refugees pouring in from the North of Somalia. Djibouti would stress that their stay is temporary and would label them "externally displaced peoples" (i.e.: not refugees) preventing them from accessing basic services such as healthcare. The refugees would move on to Yemen, Ethiopia & Kenya to seek refuge.
Despite this, Djibouti would take a central role in the subsequent peace-making & government rebuilding process of Somalia. This would be evident through military assistance in response to Al-Shabab & the hosting of summits and conferences aimed at promoting peace in the Horn. But, with now a self-declared independent republic on the block, Somaliland, Djibouti would find itself in a pickle.
By Djibouti recognising Somaliland's independence, this would jeopardize their longstanding relationship with Somalia, the nation. Also, legitimising Somaliland's existence would compromise Djibouti's port operations and allow Ethiopia to decentralise their imports from Djibouti with another corridor through Somaliland. This has recently been the case as Djibouti would enter a dispute with DP World, as they are leading the construction of a port in Berbara, Somaliland. Djibouit would accuse DP World of bribing the head of the port & free-zone authority to secure their 30-year concession, but deep down, it was due to the existential threat that Somaliland poses as a recognised independent state, as their economic potential is immense - and DP World was moving to invest in Somaliland.
Despite these tensions, Somaliland would establish basic ties with Djibouti which would facilitate the flow of trade and movement of people between the countries. But Djibouti would steer clear from conversations pertaining to their independence and sovereignty in an attempt to maintain their ties with Somalia.
Relationship with Ethiopia
Djibouti's relationship with Ethiopia is a unique one due to the intersection of clan allegiance & interests of the nation. As mentioned earlier in this essay, Issa Somalis, who make up the majority of the Djiboutian government are usually 1st generation "migrants" from Ethiopia. They maintain close ties with the family "back home", the local governors the federal government. For example, the current Djiboutian president was born in Ethiopia. Djibouti would formalise their relationship with Ethiopia following the abolishment of the Derg military junta and inauguration of a formal constitution & institutional reform to establish the People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
Djibouti would go on to develop deep trade routes with Ethiopia, as they were now landlocked (c. 1980s-1990s) following the Ogaden war with Somalia & the civil war which saw Eritrea gain independence. Djibouti were now one of the few allies Ethiopia had, and the incentives to solidify ties with them were two fold:
The overlap of Issa Somalis in Ethiopia & Djibouti - maintenance of kinship
Consolidation of their position as Ethiopia's main importer which would see their GDP rise considerably over the decades - economic, in the national interest
But over the years, Ethiopia would realise the risk this poses and would aim to slowly re-establish ties with Eritrea & Somalia to create a more peaceful Horn & to diversify their trade routes.
Conclusions
The principles in which Djibouti engages with it’s neighbours is inconsistent. At times, we see Djibouti acting in the interest of the country and in other cases, acting in the interest of a tribe/ethnic group - overwhelmingly favourable to Somalis. This toxic mix has bred distrust from local Djiboutian Afars, and has made Djibouti’s policies incoherent from an outsider’s perspective. But once viewed through either the lens of ethnic allegiance or nationalism, it makes more sense and Djibouti’s next steps become more predictable.
Over all it was a good article but contains 2 inaccuracies. 1. The Chinese were never deployed to Ogaden during the Ethio- Somali war. 2. The assertion that Djibouti was one of the few friends Ethiopia had after the separation of Eritrea is contentious. Ethiopia probably had more allies due to its influence on the continent than all countries in the horn combined.
You did a good job of explaining the complexities that exist in Djiboutian politics and explained the history of the nation well.