A Study of Recurring Inter-group Conflict in Ethiopia: The Case of Guji and Gedeo, 2018

Abstract

In April of 2018 violent conflict broke out between the Guji and Gedeo ethnic groups in southern Ethiopia, after 20 years of apparent stability. It is well established that many conflicts recur over time. This study aims to better understand why the Guji and Gedeo ethnic groups got into violent conflict again in 2018, after 20 years of relative stability. The key objectives are to shed light on what the main causes of the conflict are, why the conflict took place at this specific time, and whether it relates to the 1995 and 1998 conflicts between the same two groups.

In the field semi-structured interviews were conducted with 37 informants from both groups, with an aim to interview people with different relations to the conflict, such as government officials, aid workers, IDPs and locals. The key findings of this thesis suggest that the issues at the core of the conflict revolve around territory and self-rule, under the ethnic federalism. In conclusion these causes shows large similarities with causes identified by previous researchers in the 1995 and 1998 conflict, indicating that this is a recurring conflict. It appears that these same core issues have resurfaced over an alleged proposal for a new referendum, regarding the administrative border, with certain elite actors as a driving force.