School of International Relations & Diplomacy

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Browsing School of International Relations & Diplomacy by Subject "Conflict"

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    From Treaty to MOUs: Analysis of the Eventuality of the 2018 Ethiopia-Eritrea Peace Agreement
    (Scientific Research Publishing Inc., 2021-05-08) Musau Susan
    This paper analyses the 2018 Ethiopia-Eritrea Peace Agreement, whether it is a memorandum of understanding (MOU) or a treaty, highlighting factors leading to the conflict and the peace agreement. It also highlights the previous peace accords and why even after the Agreements, the tensions remain/ed high. Most Peace Agreements are either MOU or Treaty. MOUs are non-legally binding, while treaties are legally binding. Unfortunately, there is no consensus on what constitutes a treaty or memorandum of understanding. However, the 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties guides on treaties formulation. This paper deployed in-depth desk review research, text analysis and interpretation, and official documents. In its theoretical and methodological approach, the paper adopted an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the eventuality of the 2018 Peace Agreement. In its analysis and findings, the paper found out that the 2018 Peace Agreement was an MOU. It also found out that the conflict is not only political and religious but also emotional, cognitive, and behavioral. The failure of arbitration and the Algiers Agreement, which were legally binding, prompted the parties to enter into the 2018 non-legally binding Peace Agreement. The previous dispute resolution mechanisms lacked a provision on enforcement mechanism and consequences of the breach, while the 2018 Peace Agreement specifies this provision. The prior Agreements also lacked political goodwill to implement the Commission’s Boundary Report. However, the 2018 Peace Agreement sets the enforcement mechanism. The paper, thus, concludes that MOUs, which are primarily for political and economic interests, unlike treaties which are for legal claims, have high chances of success for settling conflict and restoring peace. Due to the recent nature of the 2018 Peace Agreement, there is limited to no research on its progress, a potential area for future research.
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    The Horn of Conflict: Inside Ethiopia‘s Democracy
    (International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS), 2021-07) Musau Susan
    The Horn of conflict? The Horn of Africa comprises Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, and Somalia, and by extension, Kenya and Uganda. The region is diverse in terms of geography, culture, religion, population, and politics. The region is known as a hotbed of conflicts due to its resource to cross-border to communal conflicts. The realist theoretical approach hold that states operate in a state of anarchy. They are after their self-interest and survival in the international system. This survival leads to a security dilemma. States will do what they can to secure their own security, which induces fear in others who, in turn, increase theirs. Ethiopia, the second-most populous country in Africa, is entrapped into different conflicts: interstate and cross-border conflict with Eritrea, conflict with Tigray People’s Liberation Front, and Nile water conflict with Egypt. Why is Ethiopia entrapped into these conflicts? What is the role of the leaders/political parties in these conflicts? What are the reasons behind these conflicts? How can Ethiopia settle these conflicts? In all these conflicts, survival is Ethiopia’s quest. This paper aims to respond to these questions using an interdisciplinary approach. Ethiopia is well placed to utilize the regional mechanisms to settle these conflicts. Otherwise, it will be a ground for complex conflicts that will spill over to other countries.