Theoretical and Empirical Explanations on the Continued Relevance of Local Conflict Resolution Institutions Among the Afar Community of Ethiopia

Abstract

Various scholars, to make sense of either the decline or viability of local institutions of conflict resolution, have put various explanations forward. In this article, I shall discuss the relevance and limits of existing analytical frameworks and explore new explanatory possibilities. Most studies view local institution’s vitality in reference to the relative weakness of state institutions. By the same token, their continuity is considered to be transient, implying that as soon as the state becomes strong it incorporates local institutions with which the viability of the latter is doomed to diminish. Henceforth, This article has explored the issue of the vitality of local institutions of conflict resolutions among the Afar from two perspectives. The first one is internal explanation for the continued relevance of local institutions. The second is external explanations with a special reference to state institutions and their mode of incorporation into the Afar cultural world. DOI: 10.7176/JAAS/81-01 Publication date: January 31 st 2023