Famine in Somalia: Competing Imperatives, Collective Failures, 2011-12.

• Author: Ackerman, Angel R.
• Position: AFRICA - Book review

Maxwell, Daniel and Nisar Majid. Famine in Somalia: Competing Imperatives, Collective Failures, 2011-12. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2016.

For more than thirty years, Somalia has presented a sea of challenges to governments and agencies in the West. The instability of the government, extreme geographical and climate issues, involvement with piracy, proximity to conflicts in the Middle East, potential as a liaison to terrorist groups, and even the complex network of kin and clan relationships create an environment that complicates efforts of humanitarian and government agencies when crises develop in the region. Famine affects the Horn of Africa frequently. Daniel Maxwell and Nisar Majid provide a comprehensive analysis of the 2011-12 famine. They not only examine the literature and statistics on nutrition, rainfall, livestock, food availability, and farming practices, but they also present interviews with Somalis, the complications of delivering aid to Al-Shabaab...