Independence came about purely as a result of the southerners' deep feeling of rejection and Somali policies since 1960 in general. Peacetime injustices and the violence of war had amplified the feeling of rejection since 1991 as the anarchy in the south continued. Despite its admirable efforts at the beginning of 1991, Somaliland was not without its clan warfare. Because the xir conflict resolution system had survived, it was possible to hold Somali-style peace conferences and reach settlements which fitted in with the national culture. The very idea of the state is totally alien to Somali culture and was unknown before the colonial period.
Nomad society is essentially anarchic.
Each of the three national conferences went beyond political issues and focused on the actual form and basic structures of the state. There are two elected assemblies, one of members of parliament, the other of elders chosen not by the electorate but by the clan councils. The system was ratified in a constitution approved by two thirds of the representatives in February 1997. The Somalis are certainly anarchical but this also makes them ultra-democratic. In the ten years of war the SNM has had five presidents.