Abstract:
he Jarso and the Girhi are Oromo and Somali clans respectively. The two have long history of
sociopolitical and economic interactions and forged local coalition to confront the politicaleconomic
pressures from the centre. In the post-Dergue political context of the country, they can
be described as groups caught up in identity-based and politicized rivalry over tangible and
symbolic resources. The study dealt largely with the causes, dynamics and patterns of conflicts
between them in the post-Dergue context although it gave due consideration also to patterns of
their cooperation and contestation in the past. The study is a systematic inquiry into the nature
of localized and historically contingent intercommunal encounters. The study was based on
qualitative research design. Data collection, analysis and interpretation were informed by
interpretivist paradigm in which respondents assume vital role in the construction and
reconstruction of reality. The data required for the study was collected through ethnographic
processes such as one-on-one interviews, focus group discussions and field observations. The
researcher considered the role of broader sociopolitical processes on intercommunal dynamics
such as attribution error and reproduction of intergroup enemy images. He attempted to make a
critical examination of the interactions between group identities and interests in conflict
dynamics and the role of social and institutional processes in intensifying the interaction. The
researcher used various conceptual frameworks and analytical models to explain the role of
historical, social, political, psychological, perceptual and cognitive factors in shaping dynamics
of intercommunal conflict. The analytical and theoretical frames adopted helped the researcher
explain the distinction between conflict and conflict system on the one hand and between identity
and identity processes on the other hand. The core finding of this study is that inter-communal
conflicts result from multifaceted processes of mutual influence. Based on this kernel finding, the
researcher recommended that conflict management and resolution efforts at Jarso-Girhi
territory should be based on careful understanding of the political, social and institutional
processes that generate norms, values and images that reinforce and perpetuate conflictual
relationship
