But the pirates of Somalia, and the utter failure of the Transitional Federal Government more generally, is especially interesting in comparison with another Somalian story. The northern coast, at the Gulf of Aden, is now governed by the Independent Republic of Somaliland. There is no piracy, its port of Berbera is thriving, warlords hold no power, and, miracle of miracles, the people of Somaliland have a functioning, relatively stable, democratically elected government. A presidential system has emerged from the grassroots, without international diplomatic recognition and with only minimal, piecemeal and grudging support from the “international donor community.” Canada does not recognize Somaliland, but it does recognize the fictive Transitional Federal Government of Somalia in the south, even though the latter cannot even effectively control its own theoretical capital city, Mogadishu.
