The Security Bazaar: Business Interests and Islamist Power in Civil War Somalia

Summary

Inaugural Winner of the Best Security Article Award given by the International Security Studies Section (ISSS) of the International Studies Association

The support of the local business community helped to make Islamists a powerful force in the Somali civil war. The Islamists gained business support not because of shared religious affiliation, but because they ran a more stable and less costly protection racket than did other belligerents.

Watch: Author Chat with Aisha Ahmad.