Paul D. Williams: What Went Wrong with the Somali National Army?

Elliott School Associate Professor of International Affairs Paul D. Williams discusses this crucial question and more in new commentary published by War on the Rocks. Professor Williams brings substantial expertise to the subject. In 2018, he offered groundbreaking work on the African Union Mission in Somalia with his book: Fighting for Peace in Somalia: A History and Analysis of the African Union Mission (AMISOM), 2007-2017. Providing a holistic evaluation of this mission, the book is singular in its scope. It also cemented Williams as a leading voice on all things AMISOM. In subsequent pioneering research, published in February 2019 by the Journal of Strategic Studies, Williams shed new light on the international community’s eleven-year struggle to build the Somali National Army. Now, in “What Went Wrong with the Somali National Army,” Professor Williams analyzes why Somalia needs an army, what explains past failure, and how stakeholders can find a better way forward. Read the analysis in its entirety at War on the Rocks.