Beyond war and politics: Somali kinship and everyday service delivery

Analyses of Somali kinship groups often focus on their mobilisation during conflict, while their contributions to service provision receive less attention. We engage literature on authority in contexts where state institutions are absent or coexist with multiple actors, including traditional leaders. Rather than depicting patrilineal descent groups as performing state-like functions, we examine them as products of socio-political, cultural, and religious dynamics, emphasising their histories without attributing primordial properties. An empirically grounded approach is required, focusing on how kinship networks generate authority, mobilise resources, deliver services, and gain legitimacy. Findings are based on fieldwork between 2021–2023 in Kenya and Somalia, combining interviews, observations, and document analysis. We show how descent-based networks mobilise qaraan and religious giving, coordinate diaspora support, and deliver education and healthcare, thereby reproducing authority while shaping everyday governance and offering crucial insights into debates on political order and service provision beyond the state.