Some implications of political economy of peace and development in Ethiopia

In a popular parlance, peace is usually defined as the absence of war or to use AU’s popular expression as silencing the guns. In reality however, the concept of peace goes far beyond the creation of tranquility or the prevalence of total harmony in a society or a country.

The author of this article believes that peace has both objective and subjective dimensions and sets a major prerequisite for the socio-economic and cultural and political developments of a country. This is even more pronounced in the less developed countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America. In Ethiopia and some other African countries, some seasoned politicians and activists of all walks of life regrettably still believe that peace and freedom is possible only through the barrels of guns. Let us first have a glimpse of the global context on peace and development.

The pervious wars in Afghanistan, Syria and other parts of the Middle East are a vivid testament that, despite major gains for peace across the world in the past few decades, much more needs to be done. The Global Peace Index score, as measured by the Institute for Economics and Peace, has decreased in recent years. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, at least 1.4 billion people live in around 50 fragile, conflict-affected countries. The situation of people in places as diverse as Yemen, Libya, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Philippines, Mali, India, Colombia, Pakistan, Israel, Palestine, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Ukraine, Nigeria, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, and the Central African Republic – and in countries where political, gang-and crime-related instability and violence prevails – reminds us of the need to focus local and international efforts on peace building, as a critical part of development.

The writer is a living witness to the fact that for over 50 years, Ethiopia has endured internal conflicts and wars, as well as external aggressions that threaten the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. It is therefore essential to carefully analyze the main causes of the persistent absence of peace in this country.

Poverty manifested in the form of underdevelopment, recurrent drought, very low agricultural productivity and industry, lack of technology to tap the natural resources of the country, heavy dependence on foreign aid both for food security and financial management of government affairs, corruption, lack of good governance, conflicts over scares resources, lack of adequate power resources for lighting up the country, depletion of forest resources, poor health status are only few of the reasons of the absence of peace and prevalence of untold under development in the country are the major underlying causes for lack of sustainable peace in the country.

Unless the above mentioned shortfalls are addressed, it would be very difficult to ensure sustained peace and development in Ethiopia. These challenges that are clearly visible in the country were carry overs from all the past regimes that have tried to govern the country and unfortunately some still believe that the current government is the cause for all the problems and challenges that the country is facing.

Although the original purpose for establishing social media outlets were for the promotion of peace friendship among the peoples of the world, these media outlets are being abused as the major sources of misinformation, hate speeches and use of bad language which is gradually developing into a subculture which is promoting war and discord among countries and peoples of the world.

Ethiopia’s economic development programs which include agricultural transformation, food security, irrigation development, Basket Bounty, Made in Ethiopia, mining and transport and logistics development, all set the basis for peaceful economic development which would help to develop national common narratives for peace.

The reciprocal relationship between peace and economic development is explained by the fact that peace is a critical prerequisite for development while sustainable development brings forth peace by promoting mutual benefit and cooperation among the people of Ethiopia thus avoiding conflicts and wars.

Social media war on the country and the statehood of the nation has now proved to be one of the main sources of conflicts in Ethiopia by sowing animosity and hatred both through the bad mouth of so called politicians of the country who do not care about public morality and peace. They lack any meaningful agenda of their own and are always busy discrediting the economic achievement of the country serving the interests of the historic adversaries of the nation. They hijack the agenda items that are forwarded to the government and prepare their own fallacious issues that are overburdened by their negative political motives. Recently Ethiopians with diverse political outlooks staged an online campaign for peace in Ethiopia. It is regrettable to observe that the same individuals who were causing havoc in the country through social media calling for war on the government and the state were trying to call for peace while in fact they are one of the major culprits for the absence of peace in Ethiopia.

It is to be reckoned that peace does not come out of the blue or declared in vain as it requires practical action and commitment by all concerned. It is not the sole prerogative of the government but a joint effort by all who benefit from the prevalence of national peace and tranquility.

A country like Ethiopia which is underdeveloped is in so many ways vulnerable to civil war and strife that emanate from competitions over access to scares resources particularly in semi-arid ecologies of the country. Peace can therefore prevail only when the basic needs of citizens are met in terms of food security, health services, education and environmental protection and utilization of natural resources of the country. Those who believe and act in the ability of gun tottering to bring peace by take power outside the ballot box are doomed to failure.

The desire for peace and the recognition of its importance needs to begin at the individual and family levels which should later develop into a national level. It needs to be cherished among all ethnic groups and the whole Fabric of social stratum. This is very important because as stated above much of the achievements in socio-economic development presuppose sustainable peace and harmony among the people of Ethiopia.

People living in adjacent internal boundary areas in Ethiopia have the opportunity to nurture peace and development by reducing tensions and conflicts in common border area through joint economic development which will help to improve their wellbeing and also ensure peace and fraternity among citizens.

Ethiopia has already recognized the importance of power integration among African countries as a tool for promoting economic development and peaceful cooperation among the states in the region. Under the conditions in which various economic and socio-political challenges are being carried over into the continent, economic cooperation and mutual assistance between African countries in the context of AfCFTA and COMMESS arrangements is of critical importance for the economic sovereignty of these countries. Africans have similar socio-economic and political challenges that they need to resolve by pulling together their resources and manpower potentials. This would in turn trickle down to the prevalence of sustained peace in the continent. Ethiopia is well positioned and rooted in the historical, political and economic affairs of the region to render commendable contributions in this regard.

The fact that Ethiopia is now engaged in massive expansion and utilization of IT resources including AI and other digital technologies will made Ethiopia more competent in ensuring national peace and security but will also help the country to play a positive and constructive role in ensuring stability and peace in the Horn of Africa in cooperation with partner countries and other relevant international organizations. Application of cyber-attack prevention technologies will also help to guarantee peaceful economic development.

It is to be stressed that those who wish to destabilize the country from far or near would be forced to think twice before they attempt to disrupt the cultural and socio-economic development of the country at any point in time. They are expected to accept that Ethiopia has a strong defense force that can safeguard the peace of the country with minimum loses.

Ethiopia pursues a diplomatic policy of peace with all countries primarily because peace can be achieved in Ethiopia only when the neighboring countries are at peace with each other. That is why Ethiopia is exerting stronger efforts in attempting to ensure peace in these countries, mainly Sudan and South Sudan, Somalia and Kenya. Unless peace and security is ensure between these countries, it is very difficult to implement joint economic programs that could benefit the population in the region.

On the other hand, Ethiopia’s ecotourism projects constructed over the last couple of years have continued to attract thousands of local and foreign tourists helping to foster a spirit of peace and understanding between peoples from different countries of the world. This is also a good example of balancing between development and peace and security.

The author remains cognizant of the relationship between media services as promoters of peace and development as two interconnected activities. Media outlets play a critical role in popularizing common national narratives which are important for peace building and rapid economic development to thrust the country out of poverty.

Peace and development require full participation of all citizens. The government may lead in charting out development plans and set aside the necessary budget for development programs but these programs need to be inclusive and participatory. In the same manner, peace cannot be dished out to every citizen unless everyone values its importance.

Editor’s Note: The views entertained in this article do not necessarily reflect the stance of The Ethiopian Herald BY SOLOMON DIBABA

THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 26 JUNE 2025

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