Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi (Irro), the president of the Republic of Somaliland, arrived in the United States for an official working visit. The visit aims to advance Somaliland’s international identity, promote investment in its critical resources, and develop diplomatic and security ties. Even though the U.S. does not yet recognize Somaliland as a sovereign state, Secretary of State Marco Rubio should nonetheless meet with Irro.
In an era of contemporary ideological competition, the United States should court African nations that advance democracy. The Horn of Africa (HOA) is one of the main theaters of modern great power competition, especially regarding the Red Sea and Bab al Mandab Strait. Somaliland is the only democratic country in the HOA, hosting nine multiparty elections: four presidential elections (2003, 2010, 2017, 2024); three local council elections (2002, 2012, 2021); and two parliamentary elections (2005, 2021).
The other four countries that make up the HOA are: Djibouti, an autocratic city-state that is aligned with Communist China and is sympathetic to the Houthis; Eritrea, a totalitarian dictatorship nicknamed Africa’s North Korea; Ethiopia, an autocratic country engulfed in ethnic civil strife; and Somalia, a fragile state that is victimized by terrorism and piracy, and has relied on foreign troops for twenty years for its security.
Somaliland is democracy’s only hope in the HOA; it is a stable democratic island in a sea of autocratic instability. The importance of the HOA region cannot be understated. Its shipping lanes in the Red Sea and Bab al Mandab Strait have become highly volatile conflict zones due to the Houthi threat. Empowering Somaliland’s naval and security capabilities can help mitigate this threat, and establishing a U.S. military base on Somaliland’s strategic coast will neutralize it.
Furthermore, the HOA is the only place in the world where American and Chinese naval bases are within eight miles of each other. If the South China Sea is the modern Berlin Wall, then the Horn of Africa is the new 38th parallel.
China is not only a near-peer competitor, it is also an official superpower. There are three elements a nation-state must possess for it to be a Superpower: industrial power, military power, and ideological power. During the Cold War, the United States and USSR were the two global industrial and military powers, but their real great power competition was ideological.
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China is an industrial power with a modern military and navy to match; it too now possesses ideological power. While Communism is China’s official state ideology, the ideological power it projects and exports to the world is broader. China’s ideological power is authoritarianism, and its closest allies are not communists but are all autocratic (i.e., Iran, North Korea, and Russia). China furtively propagates authoritarianism as an alternative system for nation-states, with its own success story being China’s greatest marketing tool. There is an ideological competitor in the global market for ideas, and the HOA is one of the main theaters of modern great power competition.
It would be wise for the United States to build strategic relations with Somaliland — the only democratic country in the Horn of Africa. It is a natural alliance. Rubio, the Secretary of State, should meet with Irro during his working visit to the United States. Enhancing U.S.-Somaliland relations gives America a strategic edge in maritime security and helps counter rivals in the Red Sea.
Aman Obsiye is an attorney based in Minneapolis, MN.