Thanks again to Muti I found an interesting article by Yumi Kim, entitled Stateless in Somalia, and Loving It.
It’s great to get a different perspective from the usual surface skim, such as Somalia has been without an effective central government since President Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991. Fighting between rival warlords and an inability to deal with famine and disease led to the deaths of up to one million people (the BBC).
The article presents a picture of a Somalia that is working, without a central government, and where the imposition of a central democracy would not be viable. I presume the article has been picked up by a popular site elsewhere, as there are some interesting comments too. Also see SomaliAnarchy.