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ETHNIC FEDERALISM, AND NEW REGIONALISM: CONFLICT AND LOCAL DEVELOPMENT: A CASE OF ABA’ALA, AN AGRO-PASTORALIST IN ETHIOPIAN [Abstract ID: 0705-03]
Ethiopia is a stable county in the horn of Africa. Its relative stability is a result of its unique structure as a multicultural federation. In 1994 the country restructured into different regions and states based on the language called Ethnic Federalism led to the creation of the nine ethnic based regional states (African report, 2009). This federal system granted inter-regional integration and appeared to have ethnified Ethiopian politics (Vaughan, 2003; Abbink 2011). In addition, in some of the states, ethnic groups occasionally reworked their ‘ethnicity’ to match their new interests within changing conditions, and primordialist ideas (Vaughan 2003; Kefale 2010; Abbink 2011); however, today, Ethnic Federalism has also created conflict (Young, 1999; Mulugeta and Hagmann, 2008; Beyene 2009). In Aba’ala agro-pastoralist area unlike the old times societies lack consensus and common understanding on matters of economic, social, and political affairs. This justifies how Ethnic Federalism entails winners and losers, in some state fuelled local level antagonisms, strained national unity, and undermined socio-economic development of the locals. Two countervailing perspectives dominate the debate over constitutional design and conflict management in divided societies. Integration seeks “a single public identity coterminous with the state’s territory” whereas accommodation encourages “dual or multiple public identities” as well as “equality with institutional respect for differences” (McGarry, O’Leary and Simeon, 2008: 41). Despite both accommodation and integration see merit in federalism for managing diversity but a federation inspired by accommodation designs sub-units in such a way as to secure self-rule for minority groups in their own units while maintaining shared rule between groups at the centre, as it was applied in other countries. Therefore this study was conducted to evaluate implication of ethnic federalism in their socio-economic space of the minority groups of Aba’ala; and identify the disincentives of the local minorities following federalism. Accordingly, it will try to look to the best alternative that complements the current institutional through minimizing of exclusion criteria.