2025/04/09 by Tariku Sagoya Gashute, Abebe Lemessa Saka, Tompson Makahamadze
Social Sciences · #African history and culture analysis #Cyprus History, Politics, Society #Political Conflict and Governance
paper · doi:10.1080/1070289x.2025.2489256
crossref issued 2025/04/09 · crossref published 2025/04/09 · crossref published-online 2025/04/09 · openalex publication_date 2025/04/09 · crossref created 2025/04/09 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · crossref published-print 2026/07/04 · crossref deposited 2026/07/24 · crossref indexed 2026/07/24 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/25
Ethiopian federalism has failed to meet its objective of mitigating ethnic conflict. Instead, it has coincided with increasing conflict. Divide-and-rule motive, poor implementation, and lack of bridging and bonding frameworks resulted in rigid ethnic boundaries, division, and conflict. This study argues that a framework of shared spaces between groups is crucial in overturning the current ethnic rigidities and conflicts. With this perspective, this study explored a shared identity approach to conflict transformation in the conflict-ridden Konso–Derashe–Alle area. Data was collected through observation, interviews, focus group discussions, and document reviews. The findings indicate that the ‘chronic’ ethnic conflicts in this area can be transformed by reinventing a regional identity through the shared values of the groups including the common myth of origin, interethnic clan identification, shared clan-specific norms, ritual prerogatives and material cultures, similar socio-economic organization, linguistic similarity and regional clan chiefs under the shared society and ‘cross-border institution’ frameworks.