Abstract:
There is a growing consensus in International Relations that the sovereign nation
state, particularly in sub‐Saharan Africa, is a ‘myth’ because of the several nations
that can be found within one sovereign entity, made so by the Berlin conference of
1885 that partitioned Africa. Regardless of this consensus, international
peacebuilding theory and practice is biased towards maintaining these sovereign
arrangements. Through a decolonial lens, peacebuilding in Somalia is explored as
an example of how these biases affect peace in a multiethnic, multiclan, and diverse
society.
