Politics of Identity and Minority Quest for Self-Rule in Federal Ethiopia: The Case Study of Kabena People in South Central Ethiopia

Abstract

The ethnic federal system was formally institutionalised in Ethiopia in 1991. This federal system has introduced instrumentalist conceptions of ethnic identity and renegotiation of identity, control of ‘ethnic territory’, and ethnic autonomy. Using the concept of ‘formal ethnicism’ as an analytical frame, the study has analysed identity politics and the minority quest for separate self-rule by taking Kabena People as a case study from the Gurage zone in the period from 1991 to 2022. Methodologically, the study used a qualitative approach and a case study research design. For data collation, both primary and secondary sources were used. This analytical model has been used to analyse how politicised ethnicity in the context of Kabena has led to the renegotiation of identity and a violent quest for separate ethnic autonomy. The study shows that after the formalisation of ethnicity as a leading political order, ethnic identities have been articulated to the extent of inter-group polarization between Gurage and Kabena due to new trends of subsuming a minority group under locally dominant groups without putting relevant institutional mechanism to prevent possible local level marginalization and domination. The findings further reveal that the subsumed status of Kabena has created a fragile and polarized inter-ethnic relation with the dominant Gurage which has been easily changed into inter-ethnic conflict. The key dynamics behind such conflict include competing interests, prolonged contestation, and protracted conflict for separate self-rule at the special woreda level and demand for the ownership of Wolkite town administration, which is the capital city of Gurage zone and located at the historic land of Kabena. The article concludes that the Kabena quest for self-rule took on an ethnic dimension within the context of ethnic politics and formalized ethnicity that hardened inter-group boundaries. Synchronizing the historic trajectory and inter-ethnic relationships with Gurage along with the contemporary scenario; the article tries to shed some light on the dynamics of identity politics, the quest for separate self-rule and control of Wolkite town in the context of Kabena vis-à-vis Gurage, focusing particularly on the post-1991 political order in Ethiopia and its local implications.