Peace, Federalism and Human Rights Papers presented at the First Graduate Conference on Peace,Federalism and Human Rights August 12-13, 2015 Copyright 2016 Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) The views expressed in this publication are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the IPSS Preface The Institute for Peace and Security Studies (IPSS) of Addis Ababa University took the initiative of organizing annual graduate conferences particularly catering for PhD candidates with the belief that the quality of a PhD dissertation will be improved with every opportunity the candidate gets to present it in front of a critical audience. After all, a PhD program should be accompanied by as many opportunities as possible for candidates to present, and thereby further sharpen, their draft findings. The IPSS is proud to present such an opportunity, titled ‘Graduate Conference on Peace, Federalism and Human Rights’, for PhD students based in Ethiopia and beyond. The first edition of the Graduate Conference was held on 12 and 13 August 2015 at the premises of the Institute. There was a high response to the widely advertised call for abstracts, indicating the need for such graduate conferences. Of the 42 abstracts received, 15 were selected for presentation at the conference through a double-blind selection process by reviewers from the Center for Federal Studies, Center for Human Rights and the IPSS. The sessions where these papers were presented at were also chaired by experienced researchers from the abovementioned Centers/ Institute. The authors benefited significantly from the critical reflections of the audience as well as the chair persons. It is the belief of the Institute that the authors will take the lessons from the conference and use the same in their PhD work as well as in their academic career. Of the 15 papers presented during the conference, eleven are included in this publication. All fifteen authors were given the opportunity to further strengthen their papers using inputs gained at the conference, and then by an assigned reviewer. Only eleven responded to the second round of revision, and these papers were further subjected to proof readings and copy-editing works. The Institute believes that this publication process will be a positive contribution to the experience of graduate students. Organization of the conference and the publication of this proceeding came to successful culmination thanks to the concern and hard work of various individuals. The coordinators of the Regular PhD program in Peace and Security, Yonas Tariku and Fana Gebresenbet, came up with the idea and consulted me. As Director of the Institute, I was pleased with the idea and further pushed it to the Director of the Africa Peace and Security Program, Ms. Michele Michelle Ndiaye, to finance it. She agreed to finance the full expenses of the first Graduate Conference. Therefore, I take this opportunity to thank her and the PhD coordinators. Yonas and Fana further took the responsibility of organizing the event, with the active assistance of the finance, outreach and communications team of the Institute. I also thank colleagues from the Centers for Federal Studies and Human Rights, and those from the IPSS who took part in the selection of abstracts, in the revision of papers, and those who took their time to attend and comment on presented papers. Costs related to the publication of this proceeding are covered by the assistance the Austrian Development Agency (ADA) gives to the PhD program in Peace and Security Studies. Kidane Kiros (PhD), Director, Institute for Peace and Security Studies Addis Ababa University ii Peace, Federalism and Human Rights Opening Speech Dr. Melaku Wakuma Director, Graduate Programs Addis Ababa University Dr. Kidane Kiros, Director of the Institute for Peace and Security Studies; PhD students, presenters and other attendees It is with great pleasure that I stand here before you to say a few words and officially open the First Graduate Conference on Peace, Federalism and Human Rights organized by the Institute for Peace and Security Studies. As you well know, Addis Ababa University is striving to strengthen its graduate programs, particularly the quality of its PhD programs. The University is shouldering the responsibility of training the future professors of the 30+ Universities throughout the country. By corollary and inevitably, the quality of education in these Universities will depend on the quality of the PhD programs we offer here at Addis Ababa University. In recognition of this responsibility, the Graduate Programs Office is assisting Departments/Institutes in the design of new PhD programs as well as the strengthening of those already running. The task at hand however is too much to be left to the Graduate Programs Office of the University. It is to be shared by individual Departments/Institutes of the University as well as students. The initiative the IPSS took to organize and host this graduate conference is to be applauded in this respect. Despite their obvious importance, such conferences specifically dedicated to PhD students are rare (not to say inexistent) in Ethiopian Universities. As you well know, among the very important measures of quality of a PhD work is the extent to which the work has been presented at conferences and published. This conference gives PhD students the opportunity to share their work with the academic community and to publish part of their findings. It is through such processes that a PhD dissertation gets refined, and its quality improved. It is only through the exposition of one’s work to critical audiences (which I hope this room will be) that PhD students can improve their work. Thus, I thank the Institute for Peace and Security Studies for organizing this conference, and hope that other Departments/School’s will take lessons from this event and follow suit in coming years. I wish you all fruitful deliberations, and officially open the conference. Peace, Federalism and Human Rights iii Contents Preface i Opening Speech ii Insights into Methodological Processes and Analytical Cautions in Interpretive Approach to Inter-Group Conflict Research: Experience from Empirical ResearcProcess in Eastern Ethiopia Jeylan Wolyie Hussein 1 Ethnic Identity And Associated Factors Among University Students In Ethiopia Ashebir Demeke 18 Federalism and Peace in Ethiopia: Current Achievements and Challenges Temesgen Thomas Halabo 41 Ethnic federalism and the effective political participation of minorities in Ethiopia Beza Dessalegn 58 Religion and the Secular State Order: The Ethiopian Experience Mohammed Dejen 74 A Tortuous Path to ‘Democratic’ Transition in Ethiopia: A Political Economy Perspective Henok Getachew 94 Liberal Peace Agenda in Post-1991 Ethiopia: Merits and Challenges Mesay Hagos Asfaw 116 African Peace Support Operations (PSOs): Sites for Deepening the United Nations’ Cooperation with Regional Organizations Dawit Yohannes Wondemagegnehu 129 The Future of Small Arms in Pastoral Lowlands of the Horn of Africa: A case of the Nyàngatom people in southwest Ethiopia Mercy Fekadu Mulugeta 143 Alliance Formations and Security Implications in the Horn of Africa: Ethiopia with its Neighbors Andualem Zewdie Belaineh 156 The Dynamics Of Security Threats To The Horn States: Implications For “Prisoners Of Geography” Yohannes Tekalign Beza 180 iv Peace, Federalism and Human Rights PART I Peace, Federalism and Human Rights v vi Peace, Federalism and Human Rights Insights into Methodological Processes and Analytical Cautions in Interpretive Approach to Inter-Group Conflict Research: Experience from Empirical Research Process in Eastern Ethiopia Jeylan Wolyie Hussein1 Abstract The objective of the paper is twofold. The first part discusses how the theoretical and methodological perspectives of interpretive approach to inter-group conflict research interacted and influenced one another in my study. Based on my experience I argue that those who adapt interpretive paradigm to study the history, meanings, processes and impacts of intergroup conflicts should integrate a range of interconnected and mutually reinforcing methods that can enhance the multidimensional understanding of the problem. The paper reveals why and how my study involved complex back and forth movement between research problems, paradigms and methods. The second part of the paper discusses the centrality of framing in identity-based conflict research and provides some ethical cares which researchers should make when they organize and interpret their respondents’ framing of conflicts. Introduction Research methods and approaches are guided by paradigms and related philosophical assumptions. Paradigms are a set of beliefs, world views, and assumptions about the world. According to Denzin & Lincoln (2003: 33), paradigm is an interpretive framework. It is ‘a net that contains the researcher’s epistemological, ontological and methodological premises.’ The four well known paradigms are the positivist, post-positivist, constructivist and critical paradigms. Out of these four known paradigms, my study adhered largely to the interpretive (constructivist) paradigm. This paradigm stands in dialectical opposition to the positivist and post-positivist paradigms. This paradigm has its roots in the idealist philosophy of Kant and in the post- modernism and post-structuralism. A principal assumption of the paradigm is that there is no single, external reality that can be accurately predicted, described, explained