Between 2023 and 2024, a substantial body of new knowledge on conflict and peacebuilding has been produced by researchers in universities in Sudan and Ethiopia. A total of 47 research studies shed new light on peacebuilding and the causes and impact of conflict in these countries. This research, produced as part of the Enabling University Peace Education (EUPE) project, funded by the EU and British Council, involved more than 50 researchers from fifteen universities situated in or near conflict zones.
The resulting collection of papers offers a wealth of new data, insights and recommendations for government, international aid organisations, local peacebuilders and researchers seeking effective peace solutions. In this article I introduce the research themes and highlight some of the major findings from this groundbreaking body of work.
To find out more about the studies, please download the Abstract document, a link to which is provided at the bottom of this page.
Key insights
The contextually grounded contributions by experienced African researchers, more than half of them women, from across a range of disciplines and specialisations has resulted in a new, rich and illuminating resource that expands our understanding of peacebuilding and conflict. From the collected body, six main themes emerged.
Women as peacebuilders
The studies show that women have significant roles as peacebuilders in their communities in Sudan and Ethiopia, although their contributions are often overlooked, unacknowledged and unsupported.
Several papers document women’s contributions to peacebuilding through their work in conflict and reconciliation centres, local peace councils, as members of political parties, and in women's associations and committees. The roles of women in traditional peacebuilding approaches and local culture were studied in depth; several case studies show a wide variation in the roles of women as peacebuilders. While some involve women in influential positions in local conflict resolution structures, others were shown to largely exclude women and to marginalise women’s issues. A study in Sudan looked at the role of art and culture, exploring how traditional girls' songs combat racism and tribalism, challenge harmful traditions and contribute positively to changing society's perception of women.
Women were also found in some cases to be inciters of violence, revealing a more complex picture of the role of women in conflict-affected contexts. Two studies in Sudan and Ethiopia show women playing active roles as participants, instigators, or supporters of violence, challenging a common misconception of women, often seen only as victims of violence or as peacemakers.
A common thread running through all the articles under this theme is the significant barriers and constraints that women face in acting as peacebuilders. These include societal and patriarchal norms which discriminate against women in these roles, and the high levels of female illiteracy and poverty. The research showed the limited scope available to women as peacebuilders in certain contexts. They are often constrained to dealing with family issues and thus excluded from broader societal and political spheres, which remain the domain of men. New research into peace policies uncovered instances of policy failure in political and judiciary systems due to the scant attention paid to ground realities that, despite good intentions, prevent policies for gender equity in participation in peace processes from being effective.
Youth in peacebuilding and the role of universities
Several papers focus on the engagement of young people in peace and conflict in universities and local communities. Case studies at Bahir Dar University and Hawassa University in Ethiopia examine in depth a range of conflict-related issues, including the causes of conflict on campuses, the role of social media and hate speech in inciting campus-based violence, the impact of conflict on female students, how the concept of peace is understood by students, and the effects of globalisation on students’ perceptions of peace and conflict. Other studies focus on the impact and effectiveness of institutional responses to curbing violence and supporting peace, highlighting important implications for university leaders. A deep dive into activities at Blue Nile University in Sudan showed the efforts of the institution’s Peace Centre in building peace in the region and the challenges it is encountering.
The strong motivation of university students to play an active peacebuilding role both on campus and within local communities was underscored in several papers. However, institutional lack of investment in resources and the absence of specific peacebuilding strategies and plans have resulted in few genuine opportunities for them to participate meaningfully. A key recommendation was the systematic mainstreaming across subject disciplines of context-relevant and practical training for university students to enable them to become more effective peacebuilders while they are at university and in their future jobs and careers.
Looking beyond the university walls, research into youth programmes in North Kordofan in Sudan found that involving young people from different communities in the planning, implementation, and monitoring of transitional justice, and in institutional reform, political and civil processes can prevent violence and enhance social cohesion, particularly for displaced youth and those seeking reintegration after war. A study in Gadarif, Sudan, showed young people to be actively engaged in peacebuilding activities despite the precarity of their situation, yet encounter significant barriers to their participation. In Ethiopia, an analysis of the role of youth associations in Bahir Dar City showed that although the associations were involved in the political, security, social and economic dimensions of peacebuilding, their work was severely constrained by factors including lack of finances, political pressure and political distancing.
The roles of social media in conflict and peace
In an era in which media has been weaponised and used to ignite and escalate conflicts, several studies in Sudan and Ethiopia set out to examine the impact of different media on increasing conflict and in building peace in local contexts.
A paper in Ethiopia, through discourse mapping and analysis of the dynamics of social media communication, uncovered the ways and extent to which the use of social media is fuelling the ongoing violent confrontations among students. Communities in Sudan in West and North Kordofan were the focus of an analytical study on the impact of hate speech, which surfaced the complexities of exclusionary language in inciting conflict in these tribal and ethnic communities.
The use of radio for peacebuilding were researched in Sudan. A case study in North Kordofan found that radio is being used to successfully build social cohesion in local communities through a focus on shared concerns and issues and rejection of racism and tribalism. One particularly successful radio-based initiative was a collaboration between a radio station and the University of Kordofan. Another study investigated a community radio programme in Red Sea State and found it to be effective in preventing hate speech and in promoting peace.
Traditional and indigenous approaches to peacebuilding
Sudanese and Ethiopian scholars aimed to address some of the unexpected gaps existing in the research literature on traditional and indigenous peacebuilding approaches in their countries, particularly on how they function in the context of present-day conflicts and challenges.
Six new research studies document and analyse some of these traditional approaches, engaging critically across a range of issues relating to gender, youth, population displacement, urbanisation and articulation with local government structures across a diverse range of specific conflict contexts. In Ethiopia, traditional approaches were studied in the Borana Oromo of Southern Ethiopia, the cultural justice system of the Sidama People, the roles of community elders in North Wollo, the Yejoka customary peace process of the Gurage community and the Shimglina peace practice in Bahir Dar state. In Sudan, research was conducted on the conflict resolution approaches of the Bejaoui community in East Sudan and the ‘Al-Judiyya’ system in West Bara, North Kordofan state.
The papers reveal a deep and complex picture of the changing relationships and power dynamics that characterise each system. Evidence suggests that while most of the traditional judicial approaches studied were generally trusted and regarded as effective in resolving local disputes, some of the data highlights significant inequalities in their treatment of youth and women. The results are highly specific, however. One study in Sudan, for instance, looking at conflict resolution among youth, found a traditional system to be more effective than the formal government system in reducing conflict, but only for young men.
Communities, conflict and peacebuilding
Several researchers investigated aspects of conflict causation, conflict management, the impact of conflict and the prospects for peace among specific communities and regions in both countries. These spanned a wide geographic range in both countries, covering significant conflict-affected areas. In Ethiopia, research focused on the Western Oromia region, the conflict between the Gurage and Kebena in the Central Ethiopia Region, conflict affecting the Nensabo Oromo and Bensa Sidama communities, and the urban constellations of Hawassa City, Jimma Town, and Woldya City in Northern Ethiopia. In Sudan, the role of armed struggle movements in peacebuilding was explored through a case study of the Sudan Liberation Army led by Minawi, revealing the types of peacebuilding effort the movement is engaged in and the intersecting issues of politics, resources and drivers affecting these. The impact of climate change, unplanned migration and social tensions was studied in the Al-Abyad neighborhood in Kordofan.
Each case study, drawn from different perspectives, presents a detailed and complex picture of the multifaceted nature of conflict and social unrest in these areas, many rooted in historical grievances, shifting populations, resource and boundary disputes, political and ethnic marginalization, social services and governance issues. Within these, climate change can be a significant contributor. The richness of the data and analysis are invaluable to those engaged in understanding the specific contexts necessary for de-escalating conflicts and supporting peacebuilding efforts.
Gender and violence
Gender-based violence (GBV) is an understudied research area in Ethiopia and led to six new studies, several exploring the link between GBV and armed conflict.
The war between the Tigray Peoples’ Liberty Front (TPLF) and the Federal Democratic Government of Ethiopia was the focus of a study on the impact on women, which found high rates of GBV among other direct negative consequences, including displacement, injury, psychological trauma, loss of livelihoods, assets, shelter and food security. Another critical case study on the pastoralist conflicts in Southwest Ethiopia and their impact on women showed recent shifts in gender-related conflict dynamics, where in the past, harming women on villages raids was banned, now such acts are regarded as symbols of honour and bravery by the men of the tribe. Universities were the focus of two pieces of research under this theme which found a high prevalence of GBV on campuses but that the institutional systems to deal with them were inadequate and ineffectual. A paper on conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence (CRSGBV) discussed the necessity of including women’s experiences and participation in transitional justice programmes in Ethiopia. Dire Dawa City in eastern Ethiopia near the Somali Region and Oromo border was the focus of an in-depth study in on the types of violence disabled women and girls experience. The research identified the institutional, programme and community level failings in preventing and dealing with GBV in this group and suggests practical measures to address current shortcomings and make their lives safer.
A role for universities in shaping a peaceful future
Having worked in higher education and peacebuilding for a long time, I have experienced the many ways that universities can contribute to peacebuilding. As these 47 research studies clearly demonstrate, universities located in conflict-prone areas offer unique insights into issues of peace and conflict, sometimes at pivotal moments of social upheaval and change. We need their essential, contextually grounded research to provide new perspectives, fresh data, nuanced interpretations and a deeper understanding of the complexities of peace and conflict, guiding us towards better solutions. These universities are often isolated in times of conflict, particularly from the wider academic community. Instead, we need to engage with them, within their capabilities in their difficult contexts, to support and collaborate with them in their determination to do something for peace.
Finally, the findings of these studies are already being used to inform and update university-wide courses on peace education, currently running in each of the contributing universities. They have so far trained nearly 5,000 university students in peacebuilding as part of the EUPE project. This is a different kind of peace education - it ensures that young people engage critically with social injustice and conflict causation, through context-relevant information and analysis of conflicts, peace processes and structures within their societies, and have the tools to make better interventions in their endeavours as students and as future professionals to be effective peacebuilders.
For further details, the abstracts of each of the research studies are provided in the Downloads section below, which includes researchers’ contact details.