Brian Doherty on How Somalia Lived While Its Government Died

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In most American minds, Somalia raises unsettling images of pirates and warlords, drought and famine, anarchy and downed U.S. helicopters. For those arguing politics, the East African nation is a powerful talisman: Its mere name is deployed to trump any libertarian argument for less-or God forbid no-government. Shaul Shay's Somalia in Transition Since 2006, writes Brian Doherty, offers a different perspective.