ABSTRACT
The analysis of the civil militarism in the Horn of Africa is relevant for understanding the root causes of civil militias in the region as well as for policymaking to render the weak states strong, to save failed states from collapse and to rebuild the collapsed states, if this is the wish of national and international politics. The security problem in the Horn of Africa is exacerbated by the militarization of the civilian population. Sudan and Somalia are the countries most affected by intra-state conflicts stirred up by the civil militias and the militarization of the society. The political history of the Horn of Africa is characterized by armed conflicts, state violence, political repression and protracted socio-political conflicts. In the Horn of Africa the conspicuous tensions in the process of state-building are between ethnic nationalism and territorial nationalism. However, state building based on secessionist ethnic nationalism as well as unionist territorialism are constructs of political elites.
