2023/11/03 by Hinew, Dereje
#Economy #Ethiopia #Gadaa #Identity #Power
paper · doi:10.20372/star.v10i3.03
Nowadays, Ethiopia is expensive in terms of national peace and development. The country's long-standing political challenges have become much more complex in scope and depth, complicating the processes and effectiveness of governance. This study attempts to show the possibilities of applying Gadaa values of social identity, power, and resource governance to alleviate the country's crises. It argues that applying the Gadaa values potentially provides values in context and helps to give meaningful solutions to the problems. The application of Gadaa values proved respect for identity, fair exercise of power, and resource distribution. The institution was used to guide all actions and activities of the Oromo and realize the rule of law. The study argues that the integration of values into mainstream politics would help put an end to conflict and state-building. It also attempts to show challenges to the application of the Gadaa values related to the past state’s identity policy, exercise of power, and resource management, as well as the lack of compatibility between the state imposition and indigenous institutions. The study employed a qualitative approach. Data were culled from oral traditions and the available literature. The study's findings show that Gadaa values such as socialization, accommodation, and training for leadership, power transfer, impeachment, and resource-sharing institutions are feasible to adopt in the country's governance system. The study suggests that the country should accommodate indigenous institutions in its new political order to certainly end major crises and contribute to development processes and the realization of democratization.