The Root Causes of Conflicts in the Horn of Africa

Muhabie Mekonnen Mengistu

doi:doi:10.11648/j.ajap.20150402.12

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The Root Causes of Conflicts in the Horn of Africa

Muhabie Mekonnen Mengistu

Published in American Journal of Applied Psychology (Volume 4, Issue 2)

Received: 20 February 2015 Accepted: 19 March 2015 Published: 10 April 2015

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Abstract

The Horn of Africa (HOA) has been mentioned as one of the most disputed regions of the globe. It has been experienced with a number of armed conflicts, ethno-linguistic disputes, religious radicalism where in it catches the attention of most developed nations including US for their strategic interest over the region. Accordingly, this paper attempted to identify and critically analyze the due reasons for an escalated war and instability throughout the region. By collecting secondary data from different reliable and verifiable sources, the data were analyzed using a combination of interpretivism and constructivism to guide the qualitative method of research. Hence, the output of the research depicted that the HOA is challenged by diversified intra-state and inter-state conflicts among the neighboring countries owing to economic, social, political and historical grounds. Most of them were rooting to boarder and territorial conflicts and ethnic and religious polarization. There are also resource centered disputes especially on the Red Sea, Indian Ocean and River Nile (the start of Ethiopia to construct The Great Renaissance Dam brings tension and anxiety among the three competing countries i.e. Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt). Though it is less sever, an armed cattle-raiding conflict in the frontier border lines of some of the states of the horn make them in trouble occasionally. Footed on identity conflicts, clan or religious based political parties struggle for power by provoking the peaceful society to get in to violence for their personal interests at the expense of the community. Even after they took power these parties will be either dictatorial or against good governance which drives multifaceted dispute with in a society. However, it is possible to peacefully resolve or prevent these issues including anticipating possible conflicts to early warn them, strategic intervention and necessary action, if required, by the sub-regional, regional and international organizations. It is pertinent to use cultural conflict resolution methods by involving ethnic figureheads and religious leaders for discussion and to hamper conflict escalations.

Published in	American Journal of Applied Psychology (Volume 4, Issue 2)
DOI	10.11648/j.ajap.20150402.12
Page(s)	28-34
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2015. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Causes, Conflicts, Escalation, Ethnic polarization, Horn of Africa, Radicalism

References

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[2]	Bujra A. (2002). African Conflicts: Their Causes and Their Political and Social Environment. Development Policy Management Forum , Ethiopia, Addis Ababa
[3]	Cliffe L. (1999). Regional dimensions of conflict in the Horn of Africa. JSTOR:Third World Quarterly, Vol 20 (1), pp 89-111.
[4]	Collier, P. & Hoeffler, A. (1998). On Economic Causes of Civil War. Oxford Economic Papers 1998. 50. Pp. 563-573.
[5]	Dessler, D. (1999). Review: Constructivism within a Positivist Social Science. Review of International Studies. 25 (1). Jan 1999. Pp. 123-137.
[6]	Huntington, S. (1993). The Clash of Civilisations? Foreign Affairs. 1993. 72 (3). Pp.22-49.
[7]	Insoll T.(2003). The Archeology of Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa, UK: Cambridge University Press
[8]	Kidane Mengisteab (2011). Critical Factors in the Horn of Africa’s Raging Conflicts. UK: Lightning Source UK Ltd.
[9]	Lotze, W. Et al. (2008). Peace building Coordination in African Countries: Transitioning from Conflict: Case Studies of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia and South Sudan. Occasional Paper Series, ACCORD. 2008. 3 (1). Pp. 1-71.
[10]	Meala Tesfamichael (2011). The Causes of Return to Conflict and the Geographical Dynamics in the Horn of Africa: The Eritrean- Ethiopian Boarder Conflict. MA Dissertation in Politics, SAOS, University of London.
[11]	Michael D. McGinnis 1999. Conflict Dynamics in a Three-Level Game:Local, National, and International Conflict in the Horn of Africa. Department of Political Science and Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis Indiana University, Pp 5-17.
[12]	Ncube M. and Jones B, (2013). Drivers and Dynamics of Fragility in Africa. African Development Bank, Africa Economic Brief, 4(5).
[13]	Nuur M. S. Nena T. (2006) Comparative Research On Cross Border Pastoral Conflicts In The East African Region-Case Studies From Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan And Uganda. Workshop Report,UNECA, Ethiopia, Addis Ababa
[14]	Shemelis Gizaw (2003). Conflict in the Horn: Prevention and Resolution. Ethiopia: OSSREA Ethiopia Chapter
[15]	Tadesse Berhe and Yonas Adaye, (2007). Afar: The impact of local conflict on regional stability Journal of Researching local conflicts and regional security, the Institute for Security Studies
[16]	Williams P. (2011). Horn of Africa: Webs of Conflict & Pathways to Peace. USA: George Washington University, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
[17]	Yasin Mohammed Yasin (2010). Regional Dynamics of Inter-ethnic Conflicts in the Horn of Africa: An Analysis of the Afar-Somali Conflict in Ethiopia and Djibouti. University of Hamburg, Germany
[18]	Yohannes Gebre Michael, Kassaye Hadgu and Zerihun Ambaye (2005). Addressing Pastoralist Conflict in Ethiopia: The case of the Kuraz and Hamer sub-districts of South Omo zone. Africa Peace Forum, Ethiopian Pastoralist Research and Development Association, Interafrica Group, Saferworld

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Muhabie Mekonnen Mengistu. (2015). The Root Causes of Conflicts in the Horn of Africa. American Journal of Applied Psychology, 4(2), 28-34. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20150402.12

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Muhabie Mekonnen Mengistu. The Root Causes of Conflicts in the Horn of Africa. Am. J. Appl. Psychol. 2015, 4(2), 28-34. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20150402.12

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Muhabie Mekonnen Mengistu. The Root Causes of Conflicts in the Horn of Africa. Am J Appl Psychol. 2015;4(2):28-34. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20150402.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ajap.20150402.12,
  author = {Muhabie Mekonnen Mengistu},
  title = {The Root Causes of Conflicts in the Horn of Africa},
  journal = {American Journal of Applied Psychology},
  volume = {4},
  number = {2},
  pages = {28-34},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajap.20150402.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20150402.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajap.20150402.12},
  abstract = {The Horn of Africa (HOA) has been mentioned as one of the most disputed regions of the globe. It has been experienced with a number of armed conflicts, ethno-linguistic disputes, religious radicalism where in it catches the attention of most developed nations including US for their strategic interest over the region. Accordingly, this paper attempted to identify and critically analyze the due reasons for an escalated war and instability throughout the region. By collecting secondary data from different reliable and verifiable sources, the data were analyzed using a combination of interpretivism and constructivism to guide the qualitative method of research. Hence, the output of the research depicted that the HOA is challenged by diversified intra-state and inter-state conflicts among the neighboring countries owing to economic, social, political and historical grounds. Most of them were rooting to boarder and territorial conflicts and ethnic and religious polarization. There are also resource centered disputes especially on the Red Sea, Indian Ocean and River Nile (the start of Ethiopia to construct The Great Renaissance Dam brings tension and anxiety among the three competing countries i.e. Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt). Though it is less sever, an armed cattle-raiding conflict in the frontier border lines of some of the states of the horn make them in trouble occasionally. Footed on identity conflicts, clan or religious based political parties struggle for power by provoking the peaceful society to get in to violence for their personal interests at the expense of the community. Even after they took power these parties will be either dictatorial or against good governance which drives multifaceted dispute with in a society. However, it is possible to peacefully resolve or prevent these issues including anticipating possible conflicts to early warn them, strategic intervention and necessary action, if required, by the sub-regional, regional and international organizations. It is pertinent to use cultural conflict resolution methods by involving ethnic figureheads and religious leaders for discussion and to hamper conflict escalations.},
 year = {2015}
}

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N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20150402.12
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PB  - Science Publishing Group
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AB  - The Horn of Africa (HOA) has been mentioned as one of the most disputed regions of the globe. It has been experienced with a number of armed conflicts, ethno-linguistic disputes, religious radicalism where in it catches the attention of most developed nations including US for their strategic interest over the region. Accordingly, this paper attempted to identify and critically analyze the due reasons for an escalated war and instability throughout the region. By collecting secondary data from different reliable and verifiable sources, the data were analyzed using a combination of interpretivism and constructivism to guide the qualitative method of research. Hence, the output of the research depicted that the HOA is challenged by diversified intra-state and inter-state conflicts among the neighboring countries owing to economic, social, political and historical grounds. Most of them were rooting to boarder and territorial conflicts and ethnic and religious polarization. There are also resource centered disputes especially on the Red Sea, Indian Ocean and River Nile (the start of Ethiopia to construct The Great Renaissance Dam brings tension and anxiety among the three competing countries i.e. Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt). Though it is less sever, an armed cattle-raiding conflict in the frontier border lines of some of the states of the horn make them in trouble occasionally. Footed on identity conflicts, clan or religious based political parties struggle for power by provoking the peaceful society to get in to violence for their personal interests at the expense of the community. Even after they took power these parties will be either dictatorial or against good governance which drives multifaceted dispute with in a society. However, it is possible to peacefully resolve or prevent these issues including anticipating possible conflicts to early warn them, strategic intervention and necessary action, if required, by the sub-regional, regional and international organizations. It is pertinent to use cultural conflict resolution methods by involving ethnic figureheads and religious leaders for discussion and to hamper conflict escalations.
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Author Information

Muhabie Mekonnen Mengistu

Department of Cooperatives, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia

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Muhabie Mekonnen Mengistu. (2015). The Root Causes of Conflicts in the Horn of Africa. American Journal of Applied Psychology, 4(2), 28-34. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20150402.12

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ACS Style

Muhabie Mekonnen Mengistu. The Root Causes of Conflicts in the Horn of Africa. Am. J. Appl. Psychol. 2015, 4(2), 28-34. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20150402.12

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AMA Style

Muhabie Mekonnen Mengistu. The Root Causes of Conflicts in the Horn of Africa. Am J Appl Psychol. 2015;4(2):28-34. doi: 10.11648/j.ajap.20150402.12

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@article{10.11648/j.ajap.20150402.12,
  author = {Muhabie Mekonnen Mengistu},
  title = {The Root Causes of Conflicts in the Horn of Africa},
  journal = {American Journal of Applied Psychology},
  volume = {4},
  number = {2},
  pages = {28-34},
  doi = {10.11648/j.ajap.20150402.12},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20150402.12},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajap.20150402.12},
  abstract = {The Horn of Africa (HOA) has been mentioned as one of the most disputed regions of the globe. It has been experienced with a number of armed conflicts, ethno-linguistic disputes, religious radicalism where in it catches the attention of most developed nations including US for their strategic interest over the region. Accordingly, this paper attempted to identify and critically analyze the due reasons for an escalated war and instability throughout the region. By collecting secondary data from different reliable and verifiable sources, the data were analyzed using a combination of interpretivism and constructivism to guide the qualitative method of research. Hence, the output of the research depicted that the HOA is challenged by diversified intra-state and inter-state conflicts among the neighboring countries owing to economic, social, political and historical grounds. Most of them were rooting to boarder and territorial conflicts and ethnic and religious polarization. There are also resource centered disputes especially on the Red Sea, Indian Ocean and River Nile (the start of Ethiopia to construct The Great Renaissance Dam brings tension and anxiety among the three competing countries i.e. Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt). Though it is less sever, an armed cattle-raiding conflict in the frontier border lines of some of the states of the horn make them in trouble occasionally. Footed on identity conflicts, clan or religious based political parties struggle for power by provoking the peaceful society to get in to violence for their personal interests at the expense of the community. Even after they took power these parties will be either dictatorial or against good governance which drives multifaceted dispute with in a society. However, it is possible to peacefully resolve or prevent these issues including anticipating possible conflicts to early warn them, strategic intervention and necessary action, if required, by the sub-regional, regional and international organizations. It is pertinent to use cultural conflict resolution methods by involving ethnic figureheads and religious leaders for discussion and to hamper conflict escalations.},
 year = {2015}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - The Root Causes of Conflicts in the Horn of Africa
AU  - Muhabie Mekonnen Mengistu
Y1  - 2015/04/10
PY  - 2015
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20150402.12
DO  - 10.11648/j.ajap.20150402.12
T2  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
JF  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
JO  - American Journal of Applied Psychology
SP  - 28
EP  - 34
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2328-5672
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajap.20150402.12
AB  - The Horn of Africa (HOA) has been mentioned as one of the most disputed regions of the globe. It has been experienced with a number of armed conflicts, ethno-linguistic disputes, religious radicalism where in it catches the attention of most developed nations including US for their strategic interest over the region. Accordingly, this paper attempted to identify and critically analyze the due reasons for an escalated war and instability throughout the region. By collecting secondary data from different reliable and verifiable sources, the data were analyzed using a combination of interpretivism and constructivism to guide the qualitative method of research. Hence, the output of the research depicted that the HOA is challenged by diversified intra-state and inter-state conflicts among the neighboring countries owing to economic, social, political and historical grounds. Most of them were rooting to boarder and territorial conflicts and ethnic and religious polarization. There are also resource centered disputes especially on the Red Sea, Indian Ocean and River Nile (the start of Ethiopia to construct The Great Renaissance Dam brings tension and anxiety among the three competing countries i.e. Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt). Though it is less sever, an armed cattle-raiding conflict in the frontier border lines of some of the states of the horn make them in trouble occasionally. Footed on identity conflicts, clan or religious based political parties struggle for power by provoking the peaceful society to get in to violence for their personal interests at the expense of the community. Even after they took power these parties will be either dictatorial or against good governance which drives multifaceted dispute with in a society. However, it is possible to peacefully resolve or prevent these issues including anticipating possible conflicts to early warn them, strategic intervention and necessary action, if required, by the sub-regional, regional and international organizations. It is pertinent to use cultural conflict resolution methods by involving ethnic figureheads and religious leaders for discussion and to hamper conflict escalations.
VL  - 4
IS  - 2
ER  -

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