African governments and their political structures are now increasingly constituted of returning diaspora. The thesis explores the international and domestic political processes through which diaspora return to politics and influence the Somali-speaking subnational and national administrations of the Republic of Somaliland, Puntland Member State of Somalia, and the Federal Government of Somalia from 1985 until 2018. These processes are traced across the three contexts and chronologically from the irredentist fight of the 1980s, through state formation and reconstruction processes after 1991, and up to contemporary politics. In each context, different historical and conflict legacies, state formation processes (including relationships with the international system) and internal elite pacts shape the opportunity structures for diaspora politicians to contest and influence politics. Divergences emerge in trends in leadership succession, including the rise and fall of diaspora administrations, as well as in the forms of alliance building and local resistance that emerge against periods of diaspora rule. This thesis is particularly concerned with how international actors and statebuilding agendas may confer undue legitimacy on diaspora politicians and empower them to challenge existing political arrangements and systems of clan governance. As such, this thesis contributes to key academic debates about clan politics and limited stateness, the symbolic valence of expertise, and the politics of state formation
