NAVIGATING ADVERSITIES: A STUDY OF ORGANIZATIONAL RESILIENCE AT SOMALI NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

Date

2026-1-22

Author

Ali, Leila Ismail

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This dissertation presents a critical case study on how Somali National University (SNU) experienced, navigated, and survived periods of closure, disruption, and re- establishment, with a particular focus on the forms of organizational resilience that emerged from the perspectives of 6 upper and middle level administrators. The study draws on interviews with current and former university administrators and integrates documentary sources to trace institutional experiences across its pre-war development, closure during state collapse, and post-war re-establishment. Guided by the Open Systems Model, the Organizational Learning Framework, and a contemporary resilience framework, the analysis explores how SNU responded to external shocks while maintaining its academic identity and institutional purpose. Findings reveal that SNU’s resilience is shaped by interdependent forms of capital, cultural, strategic, relational, and learning capacities that supported continuity of purpose despite extreme structural, financial, and governance constraints. Participants emphasized the importance of institutional memory, commitment to national service, and collaborative networks in sustaining the University across periods of disruption. The study further highlights how historical conditions including colonial legacies, political instability, and systemic resource deficits, both heightened institutional vulnerability and shaped the conditions under which resilience emerged. As a critical case, SNU offers analytical insight into resilience processes that may be transferrable to higher education systems in other conflict- affected or institutionally fragile environments. The study contributes to the limited literature on organizational resilience in higher education in fragile and post-conflict contexts and offers practical implications for strengthening institutional resilience in Somalia and comparable settings.

Subject Keywords

Organizational Resilience, Critical Case Study, Higher Education, Somali National University, Post-Conflict Institutions

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/118350

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis