Conflicts among Pastoralists in the Borana Area of Southern Ethiopia: The case of Borana and Garri

Abstract

This study deals with conflicts among pastoralists in the Borana area of Southern Ethiopia focusing on the case of the Borana and Garri peoples. The objective of the research is to assess the underlying factors related to the formation, development and transformation of conflicts between the Borana and Garri since 1990´s. To meet this objective, the study employs a qualitative approach and secondary sources. As a conceptual framework for the analysis, the study uses intergroup conflict. This study makes use of ethnicity; ethnic conflict and political ethnicity as a main analytical tool to study intergroup conflict and violence that emerge in a state, especially in this research context, where ethnicity constitutionally has become essential in creating a federal state and administrative units.

The study has reviewed and analyzed the macro historical and political trends in Ethiopia in relation to conflicts between different pastoralist communities. It also addresses the conflict since the 1990s between the two groups drawing lines of connection between the national discourse on ethnicity and local realities. Thus, it is argued that the violent conflicts in pastoral areas result from a myriad of historical, political and economic factors that reinforce one another. It is further argued that the pastoralist conflicts- if not all- particularly in the post 1991 period is also linked to questions of land ownership and self government, as the new state’s constitution equated ethnic groups with administration units.

This thesis calls for the development and implementation ofintegrated policies and strengthening local governance institutions that are rooted in traditional practices for managing resources and inter-ethnic conflicts.