Collaborative Research Projects

The Institute strives to involve collaborative research projects and partnerships with like-minded institutions across the world. This collaboration will raise the profile of excellent research being conducted in Somaliland.

Shifting Centres and Geopolitical Futures of the Horn’s Sub-nationalism... (Read More)

Through collaborative work with the Principal Investigators of the project “Shifting Centres and Geopolitical Futures of the Horn’s Sub-nationalism”—Professor Michael Woldemariam of the University of Maryland in the United States and Dr. Biruk Terrefe of the University of Bayreuth in Germany—Dr. Nasir M. Ali of Laas Geel Academy of International Relations undertook field research in Somaliland alongside these scholars, focusing on the transformative potential of the Port of Berbera and its associated corridor. Although the country possesses considerable untapped resources across agriculture, fisheries, livestock, and tourism, our work particularly underscores its strategically vital location at the crossroads of global maritime trade.

Funded by XCEPT/FCDO, the project investigates how emerging hubs across the Horn of Africa—notably port cities like Port Sudan and Berbera, alongside inland centres such as Semera—are reconfiguring political authority, conflict dynamics, and centre-periphery relations. By analysing the interplay of port-centric investments, Gulf and Turkish influence, and shifting security architectures in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the study reveals how these new centres function as dynamic arenas of negotiation and adaptation. Ultimately, it illuminates how infrastructure developments, external interventions, and local agency are collectively redrawing the region’s political and economic landscape.