It is easy to identify the worst of Somalia's seemingly innumerable problems. The country embodies the concept of the failed state. Much harder is identifying viable solutions. One possibility — and the one that may well gain the most traction and ultimately lead to hope for some sort of resolution — is the dissolution of Somalia, a state always fractured by regional politics and loyalties, into several smaller, more coherent states. Puntland, in northeastern Somalia, has declared independence and has gone forward as if it is an autonomous nation-state. Somaliland provides another example. Such a solution may not work for the whole country, but it seems a distinct possibility for those regions that are caopable of mobilizing.
