As to population distribution, again, as I’ve said, I realize many areas are mixed and have nowhere said that any type of perfect partition exists. But for most states to function, groups either have to be fairly equal (33% / 33% / 33%) and geographically mixed or have one dominant majority. The problem is that don’t have this which has caused a number of problems (see: Nigeria).

Instead, having minority populations of neighboring nations in each state allows more fluidity across borders, a kinder nationalism, and tolerance.

Hardly. Are you telling me that Afghanistan/Pakistan/Iran are shining examples of this? Your point merely demonstrates what a horrible idea/problem this is. Especially in central asia, this merely helps perpetuate the cycle of state failure. Having basic control of your country is a prerequisite to having a successful country. Turkmenistan’s problems have nothing to do with its borders and everything to do with one whacky guy. Afghanistan’s, however, DO very much have to do with borders whether to Tajikistan or Pakistan.

All: As for Peters, I think as an anaylst he’s far and away 3rd rate. He dabbles superficially in a few academic areas without really getting into any of them. Sociology is probably the most prominant. And as a writer, he’s horrible. I made the mistake of buying New Glory which was essentially a few hundred pages of ranting, cheap insults, no footnotes and little research. New Glory is overpriced firewood.

However, as Germanicus notes, he does have a wealth of experience on the battlefield that many don’t have and the abiity to draw some lessons from that. Some of what he writes is definitely worth reading, but with many a grain of salt. Nevertheless, I think most of his popularity stems from the fact that he’s one of the few soldiers who can write a book which thus lends a certain amount of credibility to his writings. The problem is, like Germanicus does, that his experience is used as a shield for his often poor writing or second rate analysis.

Yes, you are correct, it was Bush I would sent the troops to Somalia, just before his term ended. Neither he nor Clinton was concerned about the long-term implications, or gave much thought to them. As for Peters, I’m puzzled why any serious person would like him. I’ve read part of his “New Glory” book, and I actually share part of his vision, but everything with him seemed to be a grand vision; I agree with TPM Barnett that he is not a systematic or strategic thinker. A bit more sophisticated than Rush Limbaughs and Al Frankens of the world, yes, but when there are alternative sources of analysis available I’m not sure what attraction Peters holds.

Catholicgauze: Ah, you suffer from Lousy Local Newspaper With A Monopoly Syndrome. Did you realize that 95% of Americans suffer from the same? The best cure I know of is to subscribe to the Wall Street Journal and drop the local paper as quickly as possible.

I disagree. I think that Peters is really a third-rate current affairs analyst whom you have attempted to elevate by calling him a fiction writer, so that he could make it to the level of being second-rate. And Germanicus, I have to say that having a NYT bestseller is by definition something that comes from writing a popularization of a serious subject, and such books are, in my opinion, rarely genuinely good.

More pertinently to the post: Somalia going to way of 1990s Afghanistan is an unmitigated disaster. Clinton was right to get us into Somalia, but for the wrong reasons – he thought it was humanitarian, so we could pull out as soon as the geopolitical weather got bad, but it was and is a country of security importance. We should have stuck it out. And Curzon, I believe that these Islamists are specifically allied with al-Qaeda, as Walid Phares writes at CT Blog.

Sidenote #1: The best borders out there are natural borders such as islands (Britain, Japan), yet in the Indonesia post you maintain the New Guinea and Eastern Malay/Indonesia divide. That would be the first change that should be made in Southeast Asia.

Sidenote #2: Ralph Peters is a second-rate fiction writer!

As Rommel mentioned, it’s valuable as a thought provoker and visual aid not necessarily as a realistic solution or fix all.

2. That a country would not have international recognition yet its passport still be valid is certainly not a first. We don’t recognize Taiwan as an independent state, but accept people with passports from the “Republic of China.” Recall also that you can buy a Somali passport.

anyone know what the deal is?

Without insulting my dear colleague, I don’t buy the underlying ideas that drive the “alternative borders” posts, so a Horn of Africa version will not be forthcoming from me.

Of course that something might be really, really bad from our perspectives. But then again, maybe Somaliland will get her recognition (Faisal I am ashamed my country has not done this yet – who are we placating?).
Chirol, Curzon, YH – Might I suggest in the Alternative Borders series be the Horn of Africa?

Somaliland, Puntland, Islamic Republic of Somalia, southern Sudan, Darfur, northern Kenya, Ethiopia has its shares of ethnic/religious problems…

I sometimes disagree with the redrawn borders, but those posts always stir up the best conversations. I always learn something new..

Instead of following that unique model ( which some say to be a model for the rest of Africa) there is a lot of bickering going around which caused the Islamists to fill that vacuum and seize the opportunity to give people what they really wanted – peace.

The so called government in Baidoa i think has a very limited future. There are deep divisions between ‘ ministers’ and the warlords who ironically are those ‘ministers’. In my view unless they get some sort of support they will be eaten up by the Islamists. I hope that support doesn’t come in the form of weapons. Apparently the EU wants put an ease on the weapons embargo placed against Somalia. Somaliland is worried about this as these weapons maybe targeted against us. Or they may give these weapons to neigboring Puntland where we had a clash last year due to a border dispute.

The issue is people still think that we are secessionists. This is not the case. There are gov’ts in the world which are unknowledgable about our history , the fact that Somaliland was an independant state for 4 days. This is what President Riyaale’s aim is for now. To go on a tour of the world and spread the word Somaliland and its peace , tolerance, secularity and democracy. I hope more people like you get the word out for Somaliland. I have no doubt that it will be a recognised state in the near future as people see no chance of a recovery in Somalia. So why hold us hostage?

[Curzon @ Coming Anarchy makes the case for Somaliland, while offering a good brief on Somalia's chaos........]