Conflict and conflict resolution mechanisms in Ethiopia: The case of Gedeo and Guji ethnic groups

Abstract

This study explores interethnic relations and conflict in east African context by taking the Gedeo and Guji ethnic groups in south Ethiopia as a case study. The Gedeo and Guji have a long history of friendly relations. Their relations range from sharing physical boundary, economic interdependence, similarity in cultural and social practices to the myth of common ancestry. These two ethnic groups had experienced peaceful co-existence for long period of time. However, since the introduction of the federal state structuring in Ethiopia in 1994, they have experienced unprecedented conflicts: first in 1995 and again in 1998, which by far changed the image of their long-standing relations. The study explores the root causes of these conflicts and examines the factors that contributed to the eruption of violent conflicts between the groups. The study also examines the methods employed by government institutions at different levels (federal, regional and local) and the roles played by customary institutions in managing the conflicts. It looks into the current peace and security situation and future prospects in the area. Methodologically the study based on qualitative approaches; purposive sampling methods are used; Apart from intensive uses of secondary sources, I used participant observation, in-depth interview, small group discussions (FGDs) and informal conversation as major primary data sources. The thesis draws mainly from instrumentalists theory of ethnicity and ethnic conflict. The 1990s violent conflict between the Gedeo and the Guji peoples has to do with the roles played by elites (from both groups) in accentuating minimal cultural differences rather than expanding shared elements that have underlined the peaceful co-existence between the groups since long. Over politicizing ethnic differences and drawing ethnic boundaries, political elites have contributed to the proliferation of the Gedeo-Guji conflict of the 1990s.