Epistemological and methodological considerations in peacebuilding research – experiences from the Borana of Ethiopia

Abstract

Building on empirical data from author's fieldwork along the Ethiopia-Kenya border, this chapter provides epistemological and methodological insights to peacebuilding research and calls for a paradigm shift towards culture-sensitive approaches. It argues that researching peacebuilding in Africa should consider local cultural settings and epistemological paradigms by carefully designing appropriate methodological approaches. Drawing on this latter perspective, the author argues that peacebuilding research among societies with intact indigenous cultural practices, values and customs should be grounded within the societies' epistemological and cosmological orientations of their place in nature. First, the author visited Borana land along the Ethiopia-Kenya border in 2015 to conduct research on cross-border conflict funded by the African Peacebuilding Network.