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Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding in Gambella Regional State, Ethiopia

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Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding in Gambella Regional State, Ethiopia Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding in Gambella Regional State, Ethiopia Gizachew Teshome Supervisor Dr. Taddesse Berisso (Assoc. Prof.) A Thesis Submitted to the Institute for Peace and Security (IPSS) at Addis Ababa University Presented in Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Peace and Security Studies Addis Ababa, Ethiopia March 2020 i i ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES This is to certify that the dissertation prepared by Gizachew Teshome Haile, entitled: Conflict Transformation and Peacebuilding in Gambella Regional State, Ethiopia submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) complies with the regulations of the University and meets the accepted standards with respect to originality and quality. Signed by the Examining Committee: Internal Examiner______________________ Signature__________ Date_________ External Examiner_____________________ Signature___________ Date_________ Supervisor____________________________ Signature ____________Date________ Supervisor____________________________ Signature ____________Date________ Chair of Institute or PhD Programme Coordinator: Signature___________________________ Date___________________________ i i Abstract The various levels of inter-communal violent conflicts in the Gambella regional state of Ethiopia have their root in the process of state formation, state-society interaction, sociopolitical, socioeconomic, sociocultural factors and state policies spanning over a century. The conflicts have intensified over the past 28 years. This is attributed mainly to the political transformation in Ethiopia in the early 1990 and the civil war in the Sudan and the South Sudan. In response to these violent conflicts that have occurred in the region, a number of attempts at peacebuilding were made at different times. This study investigates the conflict transformation efforts, their marked features and the processes and outcomes of the peacemaking activities as well as the challenges and prospects surrounding the overall process of peacebuilding in post-1991 Gambella. Following an interpretivist approach and using qualitative methods of inquiry, data gathered from members of the local community, experts and officials at regional and federal levels, were critically analyzed. The analysis is situated in the context of intra- state and inter-communal conflict, conflict transformation and peacebuilding within Ethiopia’s post-1991 sociopolitical conditions and current policy framing and understanding of conflict and peace, taking the case of Gambella. The study shows that the conflict transformation effort in Gambella is a reactive one, containing violence after its occurrence, and often transient. The activities are focused on giving short-term solutions, treating the symptoms rather than addressing the underlying problems. The use of compensation as a conflict settlement procedure, intervention schemes coming at variance along ethnic lines and levels of conflict in the region and apathy as well as the tendency of complicating issues with politics have been noted as the defining characteristics of the peacemaking schemes. The peacebuilding process in Gambella, it is argued, is not effective both in terms of its response to the immediate peacebuilding needs and in working on the broader, systemic issues that foster and enhance the containment of violence sustainably. The process has not created a mutually beneficial sense of interdependence among the communities and groups involved in conflict in the region and embedded peacemaking activities into institutions that reinforce and sustain them. No fair, coherent and systematic procedures implemented and/or used to guide the process. Actions are governed by arbitrary rules and decisions are made based on undue pressures or emotions, rather than on their merit. As such, the findings of this study revealed that the conflict transformation efforts have been less successful, if not a total failure. And a range of factors militated against the process of peacebuilding in post-1991 Gambella, not least, the approach adopted in building peace; the nature and/or manner of third-party interventions; the nature of the political opportunity structure; the nature of the conflicts and the socioeconomic conditions in the region; leadership problems; the spillovers from the neighboring South Sudan as well as weak normative and institutional frameworks. i Acknowledgments I first would like to thank the Almighty God for His abundant grace and love that has accompanied me all the way throughout this research period. Doing a PhD degree project is a travail journey of pain and toil that could not be accomplished without all-rounded support and critical supervision. I owe a great deal to my supervisor Dr Taddesse Berisso, for his encouragement and guidance, without which this thesis would have never been the way it is. I am immensely grateful for the many hours he has invested in reading and offering feedback on draft chapters and complete version of this dissertation. Dr Taddesse was reading my draft thesis and giving incisive comments and critique despite his tight schedule. Apparently, writing a PhD dissertation is a painstaking process and an arduous task full of many ups and downs, where the candidate often has to grapple with the feeling of getting stuck, frustration and anxiety, which requires additional support and care beyond comment and guidance. Dr Taddesse’s moral and psychological support and professional advice was quite immense; especially, I cannot forget how much relieved I felt when he shared with me his experience as a person who had already walked the walk, when I brought my frustrations and pains to his attention. I am grateful to all people who came to my help by volunteering to sit with me to respond to my questions. I thank them all. I am especially grateful to all the informants and participants of the focus group discussion in the various areas of the Gambella region. Even though the topic I took on was sensitive politically, they bestowed their trust on me to share their views, perceptions and understanding of what is occurring. ii I owe a special debt to the institutions whose assistance has been of paramount importance. I would first like to extend my appreciation to Mettu University, Gambella Campus (and since November 2014 Gambella University) for the numerous support throughout this study, particularly for the financial support I got. I would like to express my indebtedness to the Addis Ababa University, Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) for the consistent support it provided me ever since I joined the PhD program. It would have been difficult for me to complete this PhD project had it not been for the funding that I received from the IPSS to cover the tuition and part of the research fees. The expertise, kind assistance and companionship I received from friends and colleagues whom I had the privilege of knowing and working with have been very helpful towards enriching my dissertation and the successful completion of my PhD undertakings. I thank Mesay Hagos (PhD candidate at the Center for Human Rights, Addis Ababa University), Ermiyas Yemanebirhan (Director General of the Ethiopian Intellectual Property Office, and a PhD candidate at the Center for Federal Studies, Addis Ababa University), and Yacob Cheka (PhD candidate at the Institute for Peace and Security Studies, Addis Ababa University, for the very helpful suggestions and comments on the dissertation chapters as well as the overall structure and content of the dissertation. The comments and suggestions I received from Gizachew Kindie, who took time to assist me in editing the language and style, contributed a great deal towards improving the quality of all the chapters. I also thank my friends, particularly Admasu Sodere as well as Samuel Zewdie and Abraham G/sellasie (who are away from Ethiopia) for their constant encouragement and help. It was also a great pleasure to be in the company of friends in the fieldwork areas away from Addis Ababa. iii My wife, Kalkidan Belachew, and my brother, Likeneh Teshome, I cannot express your help in words. In short, you have made me to really understand how such endeavors cannot be realized without the support of others. My wife, Kalkidan tolerated my sometimes focusing too much on the PhD work, loved me all the more throughout the study period and took the burden of looking after our son. Thank you for not making me feel like a bad husband who cares more about his work, although I knew that I sometimes did that. Thank you for the amazing ambiance you created in all the times we have been together. I hope I will make it up to you in the coming years. Likeneh, you are more than a brother to me. You raised me as a parent, showed adamantine love and support throughout my life and my education career. I can only say ‘May the Almighty God reward you!’ Last but not the least, my sister Banchayehu and my brother Amde thank you for being dependable and responsible, and for your concern about my life and success. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- i Acknowledgments ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ii Acronyms --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ix List of Tables ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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