Is Federalism the Source of Ethnic Identity-Based Conflict in Ethiopia?

2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 104-125
Author(s):  
Takele Bekele Bayu
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Conflicts ◽  
Ethnic Inequality ◽  
Qualitative Research Design ◽  
Ethnic Tensions ◽  
Ethnic Federalism ◽  
Political Communities ◽  
Inclusive Society ◽  
Design And Methods ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Way

Though statehood nature traced back to ancient times, modern Ethiopia came into being in the second half of the nineteenth century under the military expansion of King Menelik II. Since then subsequent political systems in the country have failed to recognise and accommodate the country’s ethnolinguistic diversity. However, in 1991 the new government constitutionally recognised and institutionally accommodated the country’s diversity. While solving old problems of ethnic inequality and injustice, ethnic federalism has created new problems of ethnic tensions and conflict across Ethiopia. The article aims at investigating how and why ethnic federalism ended up being a source of ethnic conflicts in Ethiopia and suggests the way out. The article employed a qualitative research design and methods of data analysis and interpretation. The finding of the study shows the notion and implementation of federalism has to be blamed, which left unclear administration boundary, overlooked cross-cutting variables, Majority versus minority and Titular versus Settler problem, politicised ethnicity by transformed cultural communities into political communities, produced mega ethnic syndrome within the Ethiopian society, for the country’s ethnic troubles and conflicts. Reforming the federal system and its constitutions is the way forwarded to reduce ethnic tensions and create an inclusive society in Ethiopia.

scholarly journals Ethnic conflict in Ethiopia: Federalism as a cause and solution

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (30) ◽  
pp. e210832
Author(s):  
Takele Bekele Bayu
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Conflict ◽  
Comparative Approach ◽  
Constitutional Rights ◽  
Ethnic Conflicts ◽  
Ethnic Inequality ◽  
National Unity ◽  
Ethnic Federalism ◽  
Group Relationships ◽  
The Right ◽  
Ethnocultural Diversity

Adopted in 1991, ethnic federalism indeed paved the way for the recognition, accommodation, and institutionalization of ethnocultural diversity for the first time in the country’s history since its modern existence. What is equally important is, the practice of ethnic federalism complicated state-society and inter-group relationships creating a favorable environment for ethnic confrontation and conflict to take place in the country threatening national unity, eroded century-old values of coexistence, a hard ethnic boundary where administrative boundaries are served as political and ethnic differentiators like the Oromo and Somali conflict over contested boundaries. Territorial recognition, and institutionalization of ethnicity gave room for the emergence of ‘ethnic like and ethnic others’ thinking,  made minorities in different regions victims of politics and failed to provide sound accommodation mechanisms from them, severely restricted people’s constitutional rights including the right to mobility and right to work, created room for the re-emergence of secessionist tendency. Hence, ethnic federalism while solving old problems of ethnic inequality and injustice; has created new problems of ethnic tensions and conflict across Ethiopia. It is the purpose of this study to investigate how and why federalism is being considered as the source of ethnic conflicts in the Ethiopian context. The study adopted a qualitative comparative approach while FGDs and key informant interviews were used to gather data. The finding of the study shows that though multinational federation plays an irreplaceable role to accommodate and institutionalize ethnocultural diversity, the notion and implementation of federalism instigate ethnic conflict in the Ethiopian context.

Are Things Falling Apart? The Military and the Crisis of Democratisation in Nigeria

1996 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 193-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julius O. Ihonvbere
Keyword(s):  
Civil Society ◽  
The Other ◽  
Military Rule ◽  
Coup D'etat ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Political Communities ◽  
The One ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Way

The return of the generals to power following the coup d'état of November 1993 has posed fundamental challenges to the survival of the nation. On the one hand, it has brought out the worst in Nigerian politics: repression, intimidation, violence, corruption, betrayals, and the manipulation of primordial loyalties. On the other hand, it has exposed the nature and extent of the Nigerian political rot, and provided the still weak and fledgling civil society with added strength and legitimacy. Could the resurgence of military rule in Nigeria have been predicted? Could anyone have foreseen that General Sani Abacha would become such an all-powerful President? Was it possible to anticipate the popular protests and bloody confrontations which culminated in the hanging of nine environmental activists in November 1995? What is the way forward for the contending political communities?1

A Culture of Organizational Grit From the Perspective of U.S. Military Officers: A Qualitative Inquiry

2021 ◽  
pp. 0095327X2098519
Author(s):  
Celeste Raver Luning ◽  
Prince A. Attoh ◽  
Tao Gong ◽  
James T. Fox
Keyword(s):  
Research Question ◽  
Qualitative Inquiry ◽  
Growth Mindset ◽  
Organizational Level ◽  
Military Officers ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Qualitative Research Design ◽  
Professional Pride ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Military

With the backdrop of the utility of grit at the individual level, speculation has begun to circulate that grit may exist as an organizational level phenomenon. To explore this potential construct, this study used an exploratory, qualitative research design. This study explored grit at the organizational level by interviewing leaders’ perceptions of what may be a culture of organizational grit. Participants included 14 U.S. military officers. Seven themes emerged relative to the research question: “What do U.S. military officers perceive as a culture of organizational grit?” Themes included professional pride, team unity, resilience-determination, mission accomplishment, core values, growth mindset, and deliberate practice. This study indicated that a culture of organizational grit is likely a combination of converging organizational elements. Overall, findings indicate that there may be a culture of organizational grit in the military and at the least, more research examining the concept is warranted.

The ‘disappeared’ in Argentina 1976–1980

1980 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 41-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malcolm Coad
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Buenos Aires ◽  
Military Coup ◽  
Daily Newspaper ◽  
Security Forces ◽  
Robert Cox ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Disappeared ◽  
The Way

We publish below a list of writers and journalists abducted by the security forces and numbered among the ‘disappeared’ in Argentina since 24 March 1976, the date of the military coup that installed General Jorge Rafael Videla in power. Two eye-witness accounts illustrate the way in which such abductions usually take place. Finally, Robert Cox, editor-in-exile of the daily newspaper Buenos Aires Herald, describes how independent-minded journalists and the families of los desaparecidos ( ‘the disappeared’) have been affected. The material is introduced by Index on Censorship's researcher on Latin America, Malcolm Coad.

The history of a “primary source”: The making of Tûghî's chronicle on the regicide of Osman II

2009 ◽  
Vol 72 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-62
Author(s):  
Baki Tezcan
Keyword(s):  
Seventeenth Century ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Collective Responsibility ◽  
Careful Examination ◽  
Political Sophistication ◽  
History Of ◽  
Initial Attitude ◽  
Historical Developments ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Way

AbstractA short chronicle by a former janissary called Tûghî on the regicide of the Ottoman Sultan Osman II in 1622 had a definitive impact on seventeenth-century Ottoman historiography in terms of the way in which this regicide was recounted. This study examines the formation of Tûghî's chronicle and shows how within the course of the year following the regicide, Tûghî's initial attitude, which recognized the collective responsibility of the military caste (kul) in the murder of Osman, evolved into a claim of their innocence. The chronicle of Tûghî is extant in successive editions of his own. A careful examination of these editions makes it possible to follow the evolution of Tûghî's narrative on the regicide in response to the historical developments in its immediate aftermath and thus witness both the evolution of a “primary source” and the gradual political sophistication of a janissary.

The Law of Martial Rule

1928 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 591-616
Author(s):  
Charles Fairman
Keyword(s):  
Public Opinion ◽  
Martial Law ◽  
General Belief ◽  
Military Tribunal ◽  
The Law ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Way

It is not in the least unusual, in newspaper accounts of a strike, riot, flood, or fire, to read that the governor has proclaimed martial law and summoned the militia to the threatened zone. However exaggerated such reports may be, they are evidence of a general belief that there exists some mysterious “martial law” which, when proclaimed, augments the powers of soldiers and paves the way for heroic measures. Nor are these notions wholly fanciful. For such a proclamation may indeed be followed by an extraordinary régime in which the military authority will issue regulations for the conduct of the civil population, troops may be called upon to take life, and perhaps the individuals accused of fomenting trouble will be held without authority of a court, or in some cases may even be tried by a military tribunal. Quite likely these severe measures will receive the approval of public opinion. Yet it is surprising that a people ordinarily rather legalistic should have evinced so little disposition to inquire what rules of law, if any, govern the exercise of these military powers. To answering that unasked query the present study is addressed.

scholarly journals Labels on the maps of the Third Military Survey of Austria-Hungary and on the survey maps of the Military Geographical Institute (Wojskowy Instytut Geograficzny) in Warsaw in the light of survey manuals

2015 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wojciech Włoskowicz
Keyword(s):  
The Other ◽  
Standard Map ◽  
The Third ◽  
Last Stage ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Military ◽  
Topographic Surveys ◽  
The Way

Abstract Materials from topographic surveys had a serious impact on the labels on the maps that were based on these surveys. Collecting toponyms and information that were to be placed as labels on a final map, was an additional duty the survey officers were tasked with. Regulations concerning labels were included in survey manuals issued by the Austro-Hungarian Militärgeographisches Institut in Vienna and the Polish Wojskowy Instytut Geograficzny in Warsaw. The analyzed Austro-Hungarian regulations date from the years 1875, 1887, 1894, 1903 (2nd ed.). The oldest manual was issued during the Third Military Survey of Austria-Hungary (1:25,000) and regulated the way it was conducted (it is to be supposed that the issued manual was mainly a collection of regulations issued prior to the survey launch). The Third Survey was the basis for the 1:75,000 Spezialkarte map. The other manuals regulated the field revisions of the survey. The analyzed Polish manuals date from the years 1925, 1936, and 1937. The properties of the labels resulted from the military purpose of the maps. The geographical names’ function was to facilitate land navigation whereas other labels were meant to provide a military map user with information that could not be otherwise transmitted with standard map symbols. A concern for not overloading the maps with labels is to be observed in the manuals: a survey officer was supposed to conduct a preliminary generalization of geographical names. During a survey both an Austro-Hungarian and a Polish survey officer marked labels on a separate “label sheet”. The most important difference between the procedures in the two institutes was that in the last stage of work an Austro-Hungarian officer transferred the labels (that were to be placed on a printed map) from the “label sheet” to the hand-drawn survey map, which made a cartographer not responsible for placing them in the right places. In the case of the Polish institute the labels remained only on the “label sheets”.

China’s Military Reform: In Search of Centrality and Joint Capability

2016 ◽  
Vol 08 (03) ◽  
pp. 68-77
Author(s):  
Bojian LIU ◽  
Gang CHEN
Keyword(s):  
New Wave ◽  
Military Reform ◽  
Operational Capability ◽  
Weapon Systems ◽  
People’S Liberation Army ◽  
Military Control ◽  
The Military ◽  
Party State ◽  
Party Congress ◽  
The Way

In a new wave of reform, China’s Central Military Commission remains a party-state organ of the highest military control. Politically, the reorganisation enhances intra-People’s Liberation Army (PLA) supervision and inter-section checks, and paves the way for the personnel reshuffle before the 19th Party Congress scheduled in 2017. Strategically, the military reshuffle is to advance the PLA’s joint operational capability, facilitate modernisation of weapon systems, accelerate China’s transition towards maritime power and improve the PLA’s systemic commanding efficiency.

scholarly journals Civil Military Cooperation (CIMIC) in Cyber Security Domain: Analyzing Pakistan's Prospects

2021 ◽  
Vol VI (I) ◽  
pp. 68-81
Author(s):  
Syeda Sundus Anwar ◽  
Tughral Yamin
Keyword(s):  
Conceptual Framework ◽  
Cyber Security ◽  
Research Paper ◽  
Ethnic Identities ◽  
Military Cooperation ◽  
Policy And Strategy ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
The Military ◽  
The Way

A clear lack of Civil-Military Cooperation is evident in the field of national cybersecurity policy. For a country such as Pakistan with fractious political, cultural, and diverse ethnic identities and ideological characteristics, an unguarded cyber domain can add to the existing rifts. In light of these challenges, Pakistan needs to create a national cybersecurity policy and strategy incorporating both civil and military concerns. The aim of this research paper is to find out a conceptual framework of Civil-Military Cooperation (CIMIC) in the realm of cybersecurity. This study has used open-ended semistructured interviews to find out the way forward and the hindrances in civil-military cooperation to create a robust national cybersecurity regime. For an effective national cybersecurity policy, synergy has to be created between the civil and military sectors. The military should not only have the necessary cybersecurity expertise, but it should also organize cyber-drills incorporating all stakeholders.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document