Somalia has gone from a pre-colonial, stateless society through independence, modern state formation and collapse, to the present time where (partly much more stable) new states emerged that are embedded in both, Somali traditional security and conflict resolution mechanisms and modern state structures. Dr. Brons (International Organization for Migration) rewrites the contemporary political history of Somalia, describes the multiple identities within Somali society, and concentrates on topics as state-society relation and sovereignty and security.