ANALYSIS OF DYNAMICS OF INTERCOMMUNITY CONFLICT AT OROMO-SOMALI ETHNIC FRONTIERS: THE CASE OF JARSOGIRHI CONFLICT

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