The study focuses on the Socio-Cultural History and the Econo- Political Development of the Minority Society: The Case of Benishangul Gumuz(1991-2018).The Gumuz of Matakal are renowned for their traditional socio-cultural history, economic and political developments since their arrival to Matakal. They have developed wonderful conflict management strategies and institutions that play important role in harmonizing their relations with the neighboring “ethnic” group, such as the Shinasha, Amhara, Agaw and Oromo. The conflicts differ in their causes, nature, intensity, frequency; yet the peculiarities are often glossed over and depicted as typical inter-ethnic conflicts between the highlanders or “settlers” on one side and the “indigenous “people on the other. Nonetheless, this approach not only risks a presupposition of ethnic groups as cohesive and binding entities but fails to explore the role of Gumuz initiation rituals, rite of passage, discourses of violence and other major socio-cultural events in inspiring and articulating them. So far, there exists no single comprehensive study, in its own right, that tries to map out the nexus between Gumuz perceptions, symbolism, representation and discourses of violence and outbreak of intermittent conflict in the region in time and space (1991-2018). The related literature will be systematically reviewed and relevant information gathered. Furthermore, in-depth interviews will be conducted, with elders from the highlanders, particularly from Amhara, Agaw, Shinasha, Oromo ethnic groups and the Gumuz. The data collected through these methods will be carefully examined, cross-checked, interpreted and analyzed to determine whether there will be any correlation or connection between the Gumuz, discourses of violence and outbreak of conflicts in the study area.

The main objective of this paper is to assess the historical out line on the Dynamics of Conflict and Intervention in North -East Africa: The Case Study on the Second Ethio- Somalian (Ogaden) War of 1977-1978. Hence, the Ogaden war, a brief but costly war fought between Ethiopia and Somalia that ended by the defeat of Somalia and her withdrawal in January, 1978 was seen differently by different sides. Opposing foreign intervention in civil wars has also been a central phenomenon of international politics. The war was aggravated by outsiders for many years and in 1970s, above all by the superpowers, namely, the USA and USSR, and also by their contingents. At the heart of the issues underlying the War in the Horn of Africa lie three legacies of the past: namely; European colonial rule; Somali irredentism; and superpowers intervention/ Afyare Abdi Elmi and Abdullahi Barise; 2006:45/. This conflict can be viewed as a meaningless tragedy for the people of the Horn of Africa in general and Somalia in particular. I argue that competition for resources and power, repression by the military regime and the colonial legacy are the background causes of the conflict. Politicized clan identity, the availability of weapons and the presence of a large number of unemployed youth have exacerbated the problem. With regard to the obstacles to peace, we contend that Ethiopia’s hostile policy, the absence of major power interest, lack of resources and the warlords’ lack of interest in peace are the major factors that continue to haunt the Somali peace process. Finally, the study propose ambitious peace-building mechanisms that attempt to address the key areas of security, political governance, economic development and justice in order to build a durable peace in Somalia.

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The study was conducted based on primary and secondary sources of data. To achieve the objectives of the study, I used qualitative research methods. The techniques employed in the study were Semi-structured Interviews, Observations, Focus Group Discussions, and Document Analysis. The researcher has also consulted written materials such as books, articles, reports, research papers, and related researches in order to fill historical gaps. The findings indicated that although many instructors and students have positive attitudes towards the benefits of learning history through the discussion method, there are some teachers and students interested in teaching and learning through the lecture method