The issue invites contributions that critically examine the question of nationalism in the Somali context as a historical and political process. In principle, this entails moving beyond approaches that treat nationalism as a fixed ideology or primordial cultural disposition, and instead situating nationalist projects and discourses within longer histories of social transformation. Contributions should attend to the structural conditions through which ideas of political communities are produced/reproduced and contested over time. We particularly encourage work that foregrounds the material foundations of nationalist projects including struggles over land, resources and political power, as outcomes of historically specific processes such as colonial rule, postcolonial state building, contemporary forms of sub-imperial and global intervention. 

Submissions may also engage contemporary political and economic questions such as state formation and federalism, relations of dependency to the international system and the question of sovereignty while situating these issues within their historical contingencies (e.g. contradictory trajectories of peripheral agro-pastoral capitalism and uneven development) without individualising failures or ‘culturalising’ conflict. We don’t believe collapsing nationalism into moral pathologies or elite misconduct for instance would illuminate much about the structural and political dynamics through which nationalist discourses acquire meaning and force through history. 

To engage the question of nationalism is to also examine how it becomes a key site through which belonging is negotiated and institutionalised. This again requires a sustained attention to nationalism’s political nature and historical specificity that positions identity formation in the Somali horn as shaped by differentiated material experiences of statehood and violence. To affirm identities as relational constructs formed through processes of inclusion and exclusion requires closely looking at how such processes were contingent upon historically grounded projects of collective self-assertion, of which nationalism is one.

In this vein we will welcome reflections on how notions of Soomaalinimo have been imagined and contested under contemporary conditions of fragmentation and social dislocation. What forms of national belonging are sustained or foreclosed in the present conjecture, and with what political consequences? More broadly, this issue seeks to advance historically grounded analyses that contribute to a deeper understanding of nationalism as both a product and driver of social change in Somali society.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Submission Requirements:

We seek original and unpublished work. Submissions that have already been published elsewhere, including personal blogs and social media, will not be accepted.

Please ensure your submission file includes the following:

• A proposal or abstract no longer than one side of A4, or the completed piece if it is ready.

• A short biography of up to 150 words written in the third person.

• Examples of previous writing (if you have them)

Submission Email:

Kindly send your submissions to Journalgobanimo@gmail.com with the subject line 'SUBMISSION.'

International Submissions:

We welcome submissions from all around the world in both Somali and English.

Formatting:

Submissions should be in a clear and readable format. We accept documents in common formats such as DOC, DOCX, and PDF

Response Time:

Our dedicated team aims to respond to all proposals and submissions within one month from the date of submission.

Note on Compensation:

As of now, our publication is not funded, which unfortunately means we cannot offer compensation for published pieces. However, we are actively working towards securing funding to support our writers, editors, and artists in the near future.

Simultaneous Submissions:

We accept simultaneous submissions but kindly inform us promptly if your work is accepted elsewhere.

By submitting your work to Gobanimo, you agree to these guidelines and grant us the right to publish your content on our platform. We look forward to receiving your submissions!