Vulnerable Communities and Human Rights in Conflict-Affected Ethiopia

This book investigates the lived experiences of vulnerable communities affected by human rights violations in Ethiopia before, during, and after conflict. Providing empirically grounded insights into the connections between human rights and conflict, the book demonstrates how enhanced human rights protection is not only crucial for human dignity, but also for conflict prevention and mitigation, and avoiding recurrence.

The book argues that the Ethiopian case demonstrates a positive correlation between the protection of human rights and the absence of conflict, as human rights violations produce grievances which increase the risk of violence. On the other hand, enhanced human rights can mitigate the impact of past violations and prevent the emergence of new violations. The book further demonstrates that vulnerable communities in Ethiopia bear the brunt of human rights violations, with that vulnerability often shaped by a web of intersecting identities across gender, ethnicity, class, religion, or disability.

Ethiopia has been hit hard by violent conflict over recent years, and this book engages with both unfolding contemporary dynamics and the retrospective dimensions of such violations. Based on the assumption that this multi-faceted nexus requires a holistic and multidisciplinary analysis, this book will be of interest to researchers across the fields of human rights, peace and security studies, political science, anthropology, gender studies, psychology, religious studies, and African studies.