Conflict resolution perspectives on civil wars in the Horn of Africa

Conclusion In conclusion, in order to find resolutions to the conflicts of the Horn of Africa, one needs to pay as much attention to the process as one does to content and substance.A paradoxical situation exists in civil wars, where there are no courts to declare who is right and wrong or where force cannot be the final arbiter. The paradox is that conflict parties need the cooperation of their adversaries in order to win. This means that refined argumentation to prove the rightness of a position (this is what I mean by content or substance) is not enough to get what one wants. People must be equally concerned about how to present their positions in a way that their adversaries can hear them, and become motivated to act in the manner they want. This is what I call process and this is what determines the success of negotiations, or for that matter, even discussions between various scholars who represent different sides of the conflict in the Horn. And this is where I feel the position versus interest distinction is helpful.Therefore, the challenge that this article poses to all conflict parties, citizens, nationals, and/or concerned participants is to focus on the common interests and overarching mutual goals that bind them, and allow such a focus to guide the route they take to handle the civil wars in the Horn of Africa. Hizkias Assefa, a native of the Horn of Africa, is Associate Professor of Management and International Affairs at La Roche College, Pittsburgh, Penn. 15237. His publications include:Mediation of Civil Wars (Westview, 1987) andExtremist Groups and Conflict Resolution (Praeger, 1988). During his forthcoming sabbatical year (1990–91) he will be working as a consultant on regional peacemaking initiatives in Eastern and Southern Africa.     

Federalism and the Adjudication of Constitutional Issues: The Ethiopian Experience

Netherlands International Law Review -     

Public sector capacity reform in Ethiopia: a tale of success in two ministries?

To enhance the capacity of public institutions in Ethiopia and to create an ideal environment for investment and economic growth, the public sector has gone through a series of reform processes including the civil service. This article attempts to assess the outcomes of the Public Sector Capacity reform, based on a small‐scale survey conducted in two ministries. The survey, which was conducted between March and May in 2005, reveals a notable transformation of service delivery in each organisation. Very high levels of user satisfaction and spectacular improvements in performance were also recorded as a result of the introduction of business process reengineering (BPR). Although the change process in both organisations tended to be sluggish, these improvements appear to be outstanding within the context of Ethiopia's system of public administration. However, one challenge will be for the government to maintain the momentum of reform and to cascade BPR and other elements of the reform to other divisions, departments and work units in the government. Putting in place incentive schemes and an appropriate monitoring system should protect the reform from backsliding. Despite the pessimistic accounts of public sector reform in African countries, this article reveals that there are positive findings of interest to the field of development administration. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Weather Shocks and Spatial Market Efficiency: Evidence from Mozambique

The aim of this paper is to study the association between weather shocks (droughts and floods) and agricultural market performance in Mozambique. To do so, we employ a dyadic regression analysis on monthly maize prices, transport costs, and spatial identification of markets as well as droughts and flooded areas. Our estimates show that, while a drought reduces price differences between markets, price dispersion increases during flood periods, an effect that is mainly driven by increases in transport costs. Finally, floods are found to affect price differences more if markets are closer to each other and if the road infrastructure quality is poor. An important implication of our results is that markets show some degree of efficiency during supply shock periods in Mozambique. However, spatial market integration continues to be insufficient, probably due to high transfer costs.     

Utilisation of maternal health services in Ethiopia: a key informant research project

This article explores the application of key informant research to examine barriers and facilitators to maternal health services in rural and pastoralist Ethiopia. The key informants were health extension workers (HEWs) who assist women with birth preparedness and facilitate timely referral to health centres for birth. While women encounter many barriers to giving birth in health facilities, where HEWs are supported by their communities and health centre staff, they can effectively encourage women to travel to health centres to give birth with skilled birth attendants rather than at home with unskilled relatives or traditional birth attendants.