The Political Ecology of Resource-based Inter-ethnic Violence: The Case of the Jarso and the Girhi in Eastern Ethiopia

The Political Ecology of Resource-based Inter-ethnic Violence: The Case of the Jarso and the Girhi in Eastern Ethiopia

This article discusses factors that shaped the initiation and escalation of the Jarso–Girhi violence that occurred two decades ago. The data required for the study were collected from community leaders, ordinary members of the communities, and administrative and political officers. The data were col...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Asian and African studies (Leiden) Vol. 51; no. 4; pp. 445 - 465
Main Authors: Hussein, Jeylan Wolyie, Beyene, Fekadu, Wentzell, Richard J
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01-08-2016
Sage Publications Ltd. (UK)
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects:
Analysis
Civic leaders
Community activists
Competitors
Convergence
Cooperation
Dilemma
Ecology
Ethnic groups
Ethnicity
Leadership
Minority & ethnic groups
Minority & ethnic violence
Mobilization
Political aspects
Political ecology
Politics
Psychosocial factors
Security
Sociocultural factors
Violence
Ethiopia
Oromo
Girhi
Ethnic security dilemma
Somali
Ethiopia
Jarso
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Summary:This article discusses factors that shaped the initiation and escalation of the Jarso–Girhi violence that occurred two decades ago. The data required for the study were collected from community leaders, ordinary members of the communities, and administrative and political officers. The data were collected through one-on-one interviews, focus group discussions and field observations. The study shows that the inter-communal violence was the result of convergence and interaction between historical, ethnopolitical, sociocultural and psychosocial factors. The study reveals the impact of ethnically based mobilization in stoking underlying communal cleavages, in breaking trust and cooperation and in escalating communal unrests. The violence featured dynamics of ethnic competition and destruction in which ethnic competitors failed to minimize mutual harms and maximize mutual gains.
ISSN:0021-9096
1745-2538
DOI:10.1177/0021909614547600