Ethnic conflict is when at least one side’s interest are expressed in ethnic terms and the context of possible solutions and conflicts are also considered in ethnic terms. The issue is not usually about ethnic differences. The disagreement is usually about political, socio-cultural or territorial matters. According to (Cordell & Wolff, 2009) conflict describes a situation in which two or more actors seek objectives that are contradictory, but totally fair from their individual perspectives. This is how you can define an ethnic conflict.
There are several ethnic groups in Africa, each with its own distinct culture, traditions, and political institutions (Alcorta, Swedlund & Smits, 2020). Africa’s diverse history has led to many civil wars. Given Africa’s ethnic divides, this is not surprising. Every region on the planet has seen conflict among different ethnicities for many centuries.
It is important to understand the reasons for ethnic conflicts and how they are caused. Which areas are more wary than others and which regions have relative peace? Ethnic violence is still a common occurrence in modern society. Several theories about the origins of ethnic conflict have been suggested and one of the most prominent ones is the theory of rational choice (Bošković & Ignjatovic´, 2012)
According to this theory, violence is triggered by fear that a group might be threatened. They will attack the group if they feel threatened. The people in this particular community will not take the threat lightly and they will respond accordingly. It is important to see violence as an act for defense and not as a way of provoking full-blown conflict. Ethnic conflict in turn can cause instability and threaten peace in one region. This paper focuses on the Tigray conflict in Ethiopia. Major media outlets around the globe have reported extensively on it (Nexus 2020).
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