The Geopolitics of Decolonization: Great Britain and Somaliland, 1950-1960

This thesis has investigated the role of the British decolonization policy in Somaliland. The major aim was to identify the process and analyse the formation of the Somali political institutions from 1950 to 1960. The research was carried on a twofold perspective: on the one side, a microscopic-local level explored the relations between the British Administration in Somaliland, its clerks and officials, the Somali people and its representatives, mainly traditional/religious authorities and political leaders. On the other side, a macroscopic perspective was detect while considering the external forces which have influenced this process. The dissertation examined also the British attitude towards the Italian administration of Somalia, the awkward Ethiopian neighborhood, as well as the diplomatic and international interests of geopolitics in the Horn of Africa.