Conflict transformation and shared identities

Blog post by Tariku Sagoya Gashute, Arba Minch University, Ethiopia; Abebe Lemessa Saka, Haramaya University, Ethiopia; and Tompson Makahamadze, George Mason University, USA

Ethiopian federalism was introduced to manage ethnic conflicts that arose from questions of recognition and autonomy. However, it further solidified ethnic division and conflict: drawing ethnicity at the centre of politics, it created rigid ethnic boundaries that increased division and conflicts.

Our Identities article, ‘Shared identity approach to conflict transformation: the case of the Konso–Derashe–Alle area, Ethiopian federalism in focus’, was based on a research question formulated against these limitations of Ethiopian federalism to mitigate conflict. The emphasis was on its tendency to undermine important bonding and bridging spaces. The system has deemphasized shared sociocultural and historical values that sustained intergroup relationships while exaggerating ethnic differences mainly for elite political ends, in which some sociocultural differences are politicized for a share in the regional and national cake.  

The increasing violent conflicts, in turn, further worsened division and the decline of the established social fabric at all levels of the state. However, it should be noted that Ethiopian federalism is praised by the majority of the groups in Ethiopia; almost all of the 80 ethno-linguistic groups, except the Amhara, are sympathetic to the system. They see it as an emancipatory instrument from domination and marginalization by the Abyssinian (represented mainly by the Amhara) sociocultural and economic hegemony. It is also seen as a guarantee against other future forms of domination that limit self-determination.

These realities indicate that any approach that aims to revert or moderate ethnic salience in Ethiopia should be compatible with the current federal arrangement. In other words, it needs to ensure the autonomy of ethnic groups and promote cooperation simultaneously. In this context, our study's shared identity approach to conflict transformation explores mechanisms to transform ethnic conflict through a system that fosters the shared sociocultural values of groups at the various levels of the state. It sought a system in which groups can cooperate through shared spaces without losing autonomy.

The Konso-Derashe-Alle area was selected as a case area to illustrate the possibility of transforming ethnic conflict through shared identities. This area is in the South Ethiopia Regional State, and it consists of six ethnic groups: the Konso, Alle, D’irasha, Mashole, Mossiye, and Kussume. Previous studies indicate that these groups had a complex sociocultural interdependence in which they experienced a shared identification. Even though they exhibited some minor differences, mainly resulting from relationships with other adjacent groups and some ecological variation, they didn’t identify themselves as an exclusive ethnic group.

Previous studies also indicate that their relationship was peaceful and exhibited cooperation. Currently, Konso and Alle are ethnic groups with self-administrative structures named after their ethnonym as Konso and Alle zones, respectively. The Kussume, D’irshasha, Mossiye and Mashole have been under one administrative unit named Derashe or, recently, the Gardula zone. In the post-1991, i.e. after the inception of Ethiopian federalism, the frequency of ethnic conflict between these groups has been dramatic, and the area is marked as one of the conflict hot spots in the country. Several attempts have been made to solve conflicts through structuring and restructuring; however, all have proved unsuccessful.

The findings of this study indicated that these groups have extensive shared spaces. These include, among others, the common myth of origin, inter-ethnic clan identification, common and trans-ethnic norms, common regional clan chiefs, common material cultures, and a common concept of peace and mechanism of conflict resolution. Given the importance of these sociocultural values in ethnic identity construction, a shared space system of these values can contribute to transforming the conflict in the study area.

By engendering a regional identity, mechanisms such as ‘the shared society system’ and ‘cross-border institutions’ frameworks can be used in the institutionalization of the shared spaces of groups in the study area, in which ethnic autonomy and cooperation are simultaneously ensured. 

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Image credit: Photo by Wylly Suhendra on Unsplash

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Read the Identities article:
Gashute, T.S. Saka, A.L. & Makahamadze, T. (2025). Shared identity approach to conflict transformation: the case of the Konso–Derashe–Alle area, Ethiopian federalism in focus. Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power. DOI: 10.1080/1070289X.2025.2489256

Read further in Identities:

​Beyond the ethno-national divide: intersecting identity transformations during conflict

​Displaced memories in the Trieste border area: a neverending historical entanglement

Intergenerational dialogue and positioning change in dealing with racism: Ethiopian Jews in Israel, thirty years after the immigration