Publisher's Synopsis
Master's Thesis from the year 2018 in the subject Social Studies (General), grade: 3.68, Addis Ababa University, language: English, abstract: The problem of cross border farmland conflict along the Ethio-Sudan border has been an alarming issue but it has never got scholars' attention. Therefore, the study aimed to investigate cross border land-based conflict in Metema woreda along the Ethio-Sudan border. Specifically, the study investigated the underlying causes of cross border land-based conflict, the role of the border in the conflict, its consequences and conflict resolution mechanisms. Therefore, to achieve the aforementioned aims, the study employed a qualitative research method of data collection which includes informal and semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, case studies and non-participant observation. The study finding shows, Ethiopian farmers who seasonally come from different areas of the Amhara region to the Ethio-Sudan contested borderland is among the causes of the conflict. In addition, the biased nature of the recent Metema woreda landholding reform process and the present Ethiopian government investment-led agricultural policy are also the reasons behind the conflict in the area. Further, the conflict has been intensified by the proliferation of illegal firearms in the borderland. Moreover, the prevalence of unclear and contested international borders has made the conflict to be worse. As a result, the conflict results in death, revenge, property destruction and creates an adverse impact on cross border socio-economic interactions of people in the borderland. In order to resolve the stated conflict, an official centered conflict resolution approach has been highly used in the area. However, occasionally local elders are invited by borderland officials to be involved in resolving the conflict. Generally, the contested nature of the Ethio-Sudan border has an adverse impact on the cross border land-based conflict. Pertaining to its
