Critical Realism, Somalia and the Diaspora Community PDF
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Critical Realism, Somalia and the Diaspora Community Critical Realism, Somalia and the Diaspora Community equips new researchers with a simplifi ed knowledge of critical realism suitable to the degree of their comprehension. Moreover, it offers a step-by-step example of research using all levels of critical realism. This book resulted from the endeavour of a researcher new to critical realism who, however, sought to apply all parts and phases of critical realism to his subject matter. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 provides an outline of the three phases of critical realism: original/basic critical realism, dialectical critical realism and the philosophy of meta-reality. Part 2 presents a case study that applies critical realism as a research-theory framework. The case study explores the formation of the Somali community organisations in the UK and develops a retroductive model that outlines their role in engaging the Somali Diaspora community with the issue of sustainability. Part 3 presents refl ections towards the geo-historical study of Somalia and explains the origins of the civil war and the dispersal that resulted in the formation of Somali Diaspora communities in different parts of the world. This book will be of interest to critical realists, researchers on and in Africa, agencies interested in Somali affairs, researchers on diaspora and refugees, Somali community co-ordinators and local council authorities in the UK and Europe. Abdullahi Haji-Abdi i s a researcher at London South Bank University, UK. Ontological Explorations Other titles in this series: From One ‘Empire’ to the Next Radha D’Souza Science for Humanism The recovery of human agency Charles R. Varela Philosophical Problems of Sustainability Taking sustainability forward with a critical realist approach Jenneth Parker Dialectic and Difference Dialectical critical realism and the grounds of justice Alan Norrie Interdisciplinarity and Climate Change Transforming knowledge and practice for our global future Edited by Roy Bhaskar, Cheryl Frank, Karl Georg Høyer, Petter Naess and Jenneth Parker Conversations about Refl exivity Edited by Margaret S. Archer Relational Sociology A new paradigm for the social sciences Pierpaolo Donati Sociological Realism Edited by Andrea M. Maccarini, Emmanuele Morandi and Riccardo Prandini The Economics of Science: A Critical Realist Overview Volume 1: Illustrations and philosophical preliminaries David Tyfi eld The Economics of Science: A Critical Realist Overview Volume 2: Towards a synthesis of political economy and science and technology studies David Tyfi eld Ontology Revisited Metaphysics in social and political philosophy Ruth Groff Childhoods, Real and Imagined Volume 1: An introduction to critical realism and childhood studies Priscilla Alderson Naturalizing Critical Realist Social Ontology Tuukka Kaidesoja What’s Critical About Critical Realism? Essays in Reconstructive Social Theory Frederic Vandenberghe Integrating Knowledge Through Interdisciplinary Research Problems of theory and practice Dominic Holland Post-Secularism, Realism and Utopia Transcendence and immanence from Hegel to Bloch Jolyon Agar Critical Realism, Somalia and the Diaspora Community Abdullahi Haji-Abdi This page intentionally left blank Critical Realism, Somalia and the Diaspora Community Abdullahi Haji-Abdi Routledge Taylor &.Francis Group LONDON AND NEW YORK First published 2014 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2014 Abdullahi Haji-Abdi The right of Abdullahi Haji-Abdi to be identifi ed as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identifi cation and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Haji-Abdi, Abdullahi . Critical realism, Somalia, and the diaspora community / Abdullahi Haji-Abdi. pages cm. – (Ontological explorations) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-415-71212-5 (hbk : alk. paper) – ISBN 978-1-315- 85556-1 (ebk : alk. paper) 1. Somalis–Great Britain. 2. Somalia– Politics and government–1991 – I. Title. HV640.5.S58H35 2013 305.893’54041–dc23 2013024923 ISBN: 978-0-415-71212-5 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-85556-1 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by Deer Park Productions Contents L ist of fi gures and tables viii A cknowledgements ix 1 Introduction 1 PART 1 Setting the context 11 2 The theoretical context 13 3 The geo-historical context 23 PART 2 The Somali Diaspora community in the UK 41 4 Agency and sustainability 43 5 The spatio-temporal formation of the SCOs 67 6 Sustainability leadership learning 90 PART 3 Somalia, the Diaspora and the future 105 7 Kinship, nationalism and Islam 107 8 How is transformed, transformative leadership possible? 114 References 118 Index 124 Figures and tables Figures 2.1 Traditional sociological theories 18 2.2 Transformational model of society/person connection 18 3.1 A map of Somali-speaking people in the Horn of Africa 24 3.2 Clan subdivision 25 3.3 Somali clan structure in a top-down model 27 3.4 The Somali fl ag 32 4.1 TMSA model of SCO/SCO co-ordinators’ connection 53 4.2 TMSA model for Somali Diaspora community/SCOs/SCO co-ordinators’ connection 54 4.3 The Somali Diaspora community and the SCOs’ roles 65 6.1 Revised retroductive model, modifi ed from TMSA 102 Tables 2.1 The three ontological domains 14 5.1 Summary of the investigation process under dialectical critical realism and meta-reality applied in this study 87 Acknowledgements I am deeply indebted to Professor Roy Bhaskar, the founder of critical real- ism, for his generosity and scholarly wisdom that led me to my interest in critical realism and its application to this study. Without his guidance and permission to attend the post-graduate reading seminar on critical realism held in the Institute of Education, this study would have taken much longer to complete. I would also like to thank other scholars who regularly contributed to the post-graduate reading seminars, particularly Professor Alan Norrie, Professor Priscilla Alderson and Dr Paddy Walsh. I particu- larly thank Mervyn Hartwig for his contructive comments on the original thesis. I would like to thank my supervisors, Professor Gaim Kibreab and Peter Winbourne for both providing advice and for their useful and inspir- ing comments. My sincere thanks go to the co-ordinators of the UK Somali Diaspora Community for their contributions to this study. Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Deeqa, and children, Mohamed, Muna, Leyla and Nadiya, for their patience and constant support.
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