Introduction
Ethnic conflicts can be defined as the disagreement between two or more assertive ethnological groups. Ethnic conflicts can be spread in various ways, such as diffusion and contagion. Diffusion occurs when an ethnic dispute in one region influences instability in another country under similar conditions. Conversely, escalation effects occur when a clash in one area spreads across boundaries into its neighboring nations in which a racial minority has its clan. Individuals fight for their group’s place within society since they compete for the same goals, which normally include access to power and resources.
The reasons ethnic groups conflict is systematic isolation from state and local radical decision-making, exploitation of ethnic minorities’ ancestral lands, and rules that downgrade cultural minorities. Over time, the disputes escalate and cause massive violations of human rights and physical attacks on citizens, such as mass killings and torture that eventually lead to immense human suffering. The paper aims to discuss the effects of ethnic conflicts on the global community and what measures can be taken to change the situation. To greater depths, it will illustrate the sequence of events that led to the squabbles between familiar groups in Ethiopia and how they have affected the neighboring states.
Ethnic Conflict in Ethiopia
Many individuals associate threats to a country’s sovereignty as being externally influenced. However, some conflicts originate internally and are influenced by pressures from diverse groups that put political pressure on a political order of a state. One of the countries facing the impacts of ethnic conflicts in Ethiopia which has conflicted since the beginning of the month. The fights have been ruled as a collection of ethnic regions influenced by a single leader who is the head of a highly centralized state (Whitman, 2020). However, when the Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed Ali, declared a rapid transition of the country into a multiparty democracy, Ethiopia’s Tigray region retaliated which caused the massive deployment of the military in the region.
Further, Mr. Ahmed had tried to stop the violence and informed Tigray of his plans to unite the republic by intensifying the state administration’s influence and reducing regional governments’ independence, but the opposition openly declined. The ethnic groups from Tigray and other regions stated they were uneasy with the centralization. However, Tigray defied the national administration’s directives by opting to conduct legislative polls in September, despite the general elections being postponed due to COVID-19 (Whitman, 2020). The actions by the latter influenced violence, which led to the injury of soldiers from both sides. The opposing team’s actions enraged Mr. Ahmed; hence, he ordered the closure of phone and internet services in Tigray. Thereafter, the prime minister’s cabinet declared a state of emergency in the region for 6 months. Tigray’s administration reacted by closing their airspace and restricting movement in the region. Mr. Ahmed is yet to respond to Tigray because he insists that it is important to control all levers of power to maintain the country’s political stability despite the difference in opinions among ethnic groups.
Impact of Ethnic Conflicts to the Global Community
Ethnic conflicts largely affect the surrounding global community since such disputes threaten international peace and security. The overall operations in a country have the huge influence on the neighboring countries. Ethiopia has one of the fastest growing economies globally, and a breach of the peace can easily re-direct individuals who might want to invest in potential business projects. Therefore, when the conflicts in Ethiopia began, the most affected country was Sudan. Many people died in the process, and even more, were displaced. Refugees dependent on Ethiopia for food and shelter had to move because they could no longer live in peace (Whitman, 2020). They moved to Sudan in large numbers, where they had no assurance that they would get any help because international aid groups were warned against assisting the affected individuals.
Eritrea is another country that was caught in the middle of the conflict that arose in Ethiopia. Despite its lack of indulgence to support any region from the country, it faced hostility from the region of Tigray. Tigray fired a volley of rockets at the main airport in Eritrea because Eritrea’s officials were accused of cooperating with Mr. Ahmed (Whitman, 2020). The conflicts do not help Eritrea because of the history of poor relations with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which runs the states and has its goals.
Somalia, which is a part of Ethiopia’s community, also faced its share of troubles when Ethiopia decided to commence a civil war among them. Ethiopia was forced to withdraw 600 soldiers from Somalia’s western border even though they were not a part of the African Union’s mission in Somalia (Whitman, 2020). In addition to that, the federal government’s focus on Tigray weakened involvement in backing the Somalian government against Al-Shabaab militants.
Impacts of External Influence in Ethnic Conflicts
Despite ethnic conflicts causing real damage within a nation, outside influences may help change the situation. First, the European Union and its member states should provide financial support to cooperate with the broader administrative repositioning that the new Sidama state would trigger in the south (Whitman, 2020). EU diplomats should ensure that economic changes are executed carefully to avoid shocks leading to political issues (Whitman, 2020). The other approach would be to increase EU development aid to stop government spending. The EU should also support authorities in undertaking economic changes that are carefully sequenced and protecting the country from a state of stagnation, which could influence political instability. Monitoring government spending would ensure that strategic plans that provide equal access to services (Whitman, 2020). The chances of any conflict arising will minimize because everyone will be able to achieve their goals.
Additionally, the union leaders should mediate between the Prime Minister and the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front leadership. They can advise the leader to formulate appropriate ways to solve conflicts within their ethnic groups. The individuals from different ethnic groups could also aspire to refrain from creating inter-communal tensions that may lead to economic and social challenges in the middle of a highly volatile transition.
The EU should also help reduce ethnic conflicts among the Ethiopian communities by overseeing the preparation of the electoral process. The union could help form electoral laws that are unbiased and take care of every group’s political interest. It would quicken the release of its planned electoral support package to help move forward preparations for the parliamentary vote (Whitman, 2020). The ethnic groups therefore, will have no reason to create inter-communal tensions that might lead to violence due to the involvement by a third party to cover the entire election process. Further, the internal borders of Ethiopia can be changed into international borders. The changes will establish political associations with foreign states thus resolving the issue of the new state’s compliance to global and local governments (Whitman, 2020). The changes in regional and global stability will enable Ethiopia to attain the goal for peace in the internal and international levels.
The question of whether the event article is neutral or not actually depends on an individual’s perspective on the issue of ethnic conflicts. In my opinion, the article was not neutral. The article was biased and painted the members of the opposition, Tigray as the villains without hearing their side of the story. Tigray and other regions were not allowed to share their grievances to attain long term solution. According to the article, Mr. Ahmed and a section of his cabinet were the only individuals who have the best interests of Ethiopia at heart. It does not consider the reasons why Tigray is hell-bent on retaliating against the current government. Furthermore, the story does not address any interviews that could have been conducted to ensure a balanced story. Interviews gathered from the Tigray officials would have given the whole story different angle.
In conclusion, ethnic conflicts are important issues that influence both local and international politics. Cultural affiliation and ethnic identity are key aspects that shape a community’s relations thus they have significant influence to local and international security, and human suffering. Refugee flows, instability and spillover effects are also factors that have instigated the ethnic conflict. However, it is not the cultural differences that caused conflicts in Ethiopia but the differences in ideological, political, and economic objectives of the different political groups. The issue of ethnic and cultural conflicts is complex, therefore, further research should be done on the topic to provide a solution to the related concerns.
Reference
Whitman Cobb, W. N. (2020). Political Science Today. Constitutions, Law, and Justice. (1st ed.). Washington, DC: Sage, CQ Press