Ethiopia: Afar-Somali Region Border Dispute

 Ethiopia Insight published on 11 July 2022 a commentary titled "Afar-Somali Border Dispute Can Be Resolved Peacefully" by Muktar Ismail, a former adviser to Somali Region.  

The issue here is three special kebeles (wards) in Afar Region that are inhabited predominantly by Somalis and wish to be integrated into Somali Region.  There are historical arguments on both sides.  Conflict has periodically occurred along the border.  The author argues that elders from both sides should lead the negotiation process. 

Ethiopia: Elections Postponed in Somali Region

 Ethiopia Insight posted on 11 June 2021 a commentary titled "New Faces, Old Problems: Reforms, Clans and Parties in Ethiopia's Somali Region" by Abdirahman Ahmed, Jigjiga University.  

The author discusses party, personality and clan dynamics in Somali Region in the runup to Ethiopia's parliamentary elections scheduled for later this month.  

The day before this commentary appeared, Ethiopia announced that elections in Somali Region will be postponed until September, citing irregularities and problems with the printing of ballots.

South Sudan and Role of Customary Authority in Conflict

The Rift Valley Institute published in 2018 a study titled "Politics, Power and Chiefship in Famine and War: A Study of the Former Northern Bahr el-Ghazal State, South Sudan" by Nicki Kindersley.

Former Northern Bahr el Ghazal State has been deeply affected by and embedded in South Sudan's civil war. This study looks at how customary authorities on South Sudan's border with southern Darfur have managed repeated wars and famines since the 1960s. It sets out chiefs' and elders' experience of negotiating with successive states, rebel movements and local militias during times of famine, flight and fighting. It concludes that chiefs and other customary authorities are a fundamental part of the political-military structures of power in South Sudan.

Somalia: Male Power, Insecurity, and Inequality

The Rift Valley Institute published in March 2017 a briefing paper titled "Somalia: A State of Male Power, Insecurity and Inequality" by Judith Gardner and Judy El-Bushra.

The study identified kinship after 1991 as an organizing force for state-building and security in Somalia. Male domination of government and politics has become more entrenched. Accountability is between the individual male leaders and his close kinsmen who promoted him on the expectation of personal gain, creating a new dominant form of masculinity based on wealth and control of resources.