| Abstract: | Despite the prevalence of traditional institutions and the growing official and
academic need to ‘recognize,’ ‘empower’ and incorporate them in the state
system, competition and harmony between the two persists. There are seventysix
officially listed ethnic groups in Ethiopia, and there exists a great plurality of
livelihoods, social organizations, belief systems, and political and legal systems
in the country. Notwithstanding the human right issues, traditional institutions
operating outside the state are the dominant form of conflict prevention and
resolution in Ethiopia. However, the relationship between traditional institutions
and state institutions remains unclear. Previous researches either focus on the
constitutional set-up and legal framework of states, or their scope is too specific
relating to local case studies and their relationship with the state local institutions.
This relationship does not, however, only involve legal issues or concerns at the
bottom, but it is also an issue of governance and political structure. This article is
based on content and document analysis and examines the harmony and
competition between the state and traditional institutions in Ethiopia. I argue that
despite their practical prevalence, the policy, legal and institutional frameworks
in Ethiopia do not plainly address the relationship between the state and traditional
institutions. Although de facto recognition seems to exist, the practice shows that
the state that envisages the importance of traditional institutions undermines their
role in case of conflict with state institutions. |
