RAPID: Service Provision and Security in Mogadishu, Somalia

University Of California-San Diego, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Abstract

The project explores the impact of the state on security and citizen welfare. Conventional expectations of state-building suggest that regions controlled by formal authorities will provide enhanced security and citizen welfare. However, it is difficult to test this belief with appropriate levels of control; regions controlled by formal authorities are often systematically different than those which are not. This proposal will conduct a representative survey following the withdarwal of Al Shabaab in Mogadishu, Somalia. Mogadishu is now divided among areas controlled by formally recognized state authorities and local power-brokers. By comparing these two types of areas which are similar on many other dimensions, the survey will allow reseachers to isolate the effect of formal authority on security and citizen welfare. The proposal also incorporates communications technology in a novel manner, potentially advancing methods of conducting surveys in hard-to-reach areas of the world. The findings should have implications not only for the scholarly community, but could inform non-governmental organizations and policymakers about how to more efficiently provide assistance to conflict-prone areas. The resolution of this question willcontribute to our understanding of the origins and effects of state power. In addition, the project will assess how clan- and kinship- ties contribute to security and welfare within areas outside of state control. The project also features important broader impacts. Most notably, the survey incorporates technological innovations to gather survey responses that are novel and potentially transformative. Satellite imagery will be used to develop the sampling frame. Because of recent conflict in the region, demographic data are incomplete. The use of satellite imagery allows the investigators to work around this challenge. Enumerators will collect, encrypt, and transmit data using mobile phones allowing investigators to gain immediate access to data and to enhance the security of the data collection enterprise. This approach could be applied to other conflict zones, providing the scholarly community opportunities to conduct research in previously inaccessible areas. The data produced by the project will be of immediate use to the NGO and policy-making communities. Further, the PI's incorporation of the US-based and local Somali communities provides opportunities for training of an underserved group.