Competing orders and conflicts at the margins of the State: Inter-group conflicts along the Ethiopia-Kenya border

Abstract

In this paper, the interplay between various competing orders among three ethnic groups on the margins of the Ethiopian state that have overlapping presence along the Ethiopia-Kenya border is analysed. The paper probes into complex and intertwined causes of inter-group conf licts by going beyond the commonly asserted resource scarcity and ethnicity assumptions, arguing that any attempt to establish sustainable peace becomes futile without assessing inter-group conf lict within a context including historical, environmental, political, economic, cultural and institutional dimensions. The paper also conceptualises the state as an active player in inter-group relations, as it plays a fundamental role in instigating and/or resolving conf licts based on its political, economic and strategic interests. Taking the case of inter-group conf licts among three groups inhabiting border areas along southern Ethiopia and northern Kenya, and by employing actor-oriented perspectives, the paper argues that the involvement of competing interests and claims on the side of the Ethiopian state, local communities and individuals, both in the instigation of conf licts and peacebuilding processes further complicates the situation. It concludes that inter-group conf lict and attempts at peacebuilding in the region are to a large extent inf luenced by national political dynamics, changes in traditional institutions and cross-border relations.

Keywords: Inter-group conf lict, peacebuilding, competing orders, Ethiopia-Kenya border.