Israel recognised Somaliland and turned recognition into leverage - and global fears are proving justified. Right, so Somaliland has finally been recognised, and it turns out recognition wasn’t the prize, it was the bill. A territory that wanted legitimacy now has exposure, a parent state has lost control of its own borders, and Israel has demonstrated that recognition still works exactly how empires prefer it to work — as leverage. That outcome is nowlocked in, and no amount of denial is putting the lid back on. Israel didn’t recognise Somaliland to tidy up a map or reward good behaviour. It recognised Somaliland because recognition now buys access, alignment, and silence, and Somaliland was in no position to say no. Somalia pays the price in territorial authority, Somaliland pays it in strategic vulnerability, and Palestinians are dragged back  ...