Libertarian International Organization | Voluntary Governance, Rights, Progress

Somalia=Libertarian Paradise? It's coming, say determined activists.

Somalia broke apart starting in 1989 into chaos due to what many feel was misguided US government interference to impose a 'friendly' right-wing Islamist regime under color of 'democracy' and centralization. Local Libertarians were murdered in their beds by government thugs, and to add insult to injury, corrupt or incompetent US media apologists derided Somalia as a 'Libertarian Paradise' showing the evil of 'Libertarian anarchism'  and 'market fundamentalism.'

Somali Libertarians and Liberals met with LIO advisors and worked to use Libertarian tools to in their words 're-route' the situation, and have stabilized part of the country using secession tools in a breakaway region, Somaliland, which now enjoys democratic reforms, rising incomes and a freer economy ( see:  http://www.somalilandgov.com/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Somaliland ). In the remaining Somalia LIO Advisor Michael Van Notten travelled the country after an analysis of the original proto-Libertarian clan-supervised Somali law system, the Xeer (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xeer ), to meet with elders on using the practices to circumvent corrupt officials and provide free, low cost justice and stability and enable dialogue. One area, Awdal, has proposed additional autonomy.

The Somali group  has now begun a long term networking project in Somalia to build a consensus to move towards a Somaliland model. In addition, an LIO Advisor is working on projects to help develop entrepreneurship and dialogue which will be profiled later this year.