Socio-Economic Security Problems of the Murle and their Neighbours across the Ethiopia-South Sudan Border
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Date
2019-03
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
This dissertation examines the socio-economic bases of the Murle and their neighbours
across the Ethiopia-South Sudan border, in relation to security problems. The borderland
people narrated their hostile relations with the Murle by referring their pervasive practices of
cattle raiding, child abduction, and violent confrontations. Taking the case of the Murle and
their borderland neighbours, following an ethnographic approach and adapting qualitative
research methodology, data was gathered from members of the local community,
humanitarian organizations, and officials across the border. Pertinent literatures were
discussed on three themes, i.e., intergroup conflicts, contemplation of state borders, the socio economic interactions, and finally assessed the gaps of intellectual discussion regarding the
socio-economic security problems across the border. Data analysis and interpretation was
situated thematically. For those people across the border cattle, children, and land are the
base of their economic asset. However, the borderland people are affected by intrinsic
cultural assumptions such as – the Murle people believed that “all cattle in the world belong
to them and need to collect cattle from other places and communities and follow a philosophy
of enlarging their population to have enough potential to bargain the available natural
resources”; the Jikany-Nuer predominantly depend on cattle while the Anyuaa believe that
land is their sole property. To secure their intrinsic cultural assumption, they developed
survival struggle mechanisms – the Anyuaa used defensive and preservation mechanisms; the
Jikany-Nuer used protection and expansion mechanisms; and the Murle used collection and
monopolization mechanisms. These complicated socio-economic interactions of the Murle
and their borderland neighbours imply a security problem which is exacerbated by human
security threats. The local government is unable to mitigate these threats and security
problems due to the challenges of border porosity, South Sudanese instability, state customary disintegration, and fractured relations. The main predator of the borderland socio economic threats and security problems are the Murle youth. They infiltrate the Ethiopian
border to raid cattle, abduct children, and confront the defenders. The main factors of their
instigation are their idleness, widespread poverty, economic deterioration, and socio-cultural
disorder. Moreover, the Murle red chiefs’/kings’ traditional system is malfunctioned by
stripping its power since the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan colonial period; which eroded their
cultural power to manage their youth that they categorized into age-groups.