Constructive Resistance in Somali History: The Wind Before the Rain

by Ebba Tellander

Overview

In the 1980s, the arrests of a group of teachers, doctors, and other professionals triggered a wave of protests—the first open resistance against Siad Barre’s regime in northern Somalia—helping to pave the way for Somaliland’s self-declaration in 1991. This book provides an extensive analysis of that transformative moment, drawing on over 100 oral histories and archival materials, including trial protocols and political poetry.

 

This fascinating case study demonstrates how resistance that is constructive, non-violent, and caring can spark collective action and change. In 1981-1982 in northern Somalia, doctors, teachers, and other professionals came together to restore a hospital and to volunteer in schools as acts of resistance towards state oppression. Their arrest sparked the first open street protests against Siad Barre’s dictatorship. It is an inspiring story in which collective acts of care and community mobilisation ultimately led to societal change in an oppressive setting, in a region more known for its violence and fragmentation. The book takes the case further by combining theories in innovative ways, providing a compelling account of political socialisation and non-violent civil resistance in repressive settings.

 

Richly supported with 19 illustrations, this important case study will be of interest to researchers working on African history, or politics and resistance studies more broadly. Readers can see a short film developed about the life stories of the Uffo group here: https://positivenegatives.org/story/transform/somaliland/ 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781032884813
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/21/2025
Series:	Routledge Studies in the Modern History of Africa
Pages:	232
Product dimensions:	6.12(w) x 9.19(h) x (d)

About the Author

Ebba Tellander completed her PhD at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO), Norway, and the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands. Her research has appeared in Foreign Policy Analysis and Citizenship Studies, with forthcoming work in Mobilization. She is affiliated with the Civic Innovation group at ISS and collaborates with Oslo Metropolitan University, researchers at PRIO, among others. She has also co-created an animation and TV program based on her work.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction: Resistance by Caregiving Professionals  2. Setting The Scene  3. Care, Constructive Resistance and Socialization  4. Uffo’s Past Socialization: Somali Values, National Sentiments and Regime Critical Narratives  5. Uffo’s Relationships of Care  6. Uffo’s Constructive Resistance  7. Student Protests: ‘They Arrested Our Teachers’  8. Political Poetry: ‘Don’t Be Afraid and Don’t Despair’  9. Professionals in Early Resistance: Theoretical Insights  10. Concluding Remarks

Editorial Reviews

"Focusing on professionals rather than politicians as agents of social change, Tellander impressively combines oral testimonies, popular poetry, and rich cultural analysis to reconstruct the dramatic story of the 1981 Uffo protests which helped launch Somaliland on its path to independence a decade later. A compelling contribution to the comparative literature on non-violent resistance in the global south!"

Lee Cassanelli, Professor of History, University of Pennsylvania, USA.

"Constructive Resistance in Somali History deepens our understanding of agency and resistance through the stories of young professionals and students who challenged authoritarianism in Somalia. With theoretical rigour and meticulous research, Ebba Tellander reminds us that collective care is a necessary dimension of the political.”

Safia Aidid, Assistant Professor of History and African Studies, University of Toronto, Canada.

"Ebba Tellander provides a detailed, original, and elegantly told account of the Uffo protests in 1980s Hargeisa, Somaliland. Drawing on multiple interviews, the author ties the historiographical account to central theories of protest and resistance and to Somali poetry, offering a comprehensive analysis of how protest arose at this key moment in Somaliland's history."

Laura Hammond, Professor of Development Studies at SOAS, University of London, UK

From the Publisher