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Alem Mamo, for the Addis Standard
Addis Ababa, July 30, 2018 – It is very rare that interstate negotiations or peace agreements are made in Africa or elsewhere. elsewhere without a third party. party negotiator, often from the western world, sitting in the middle of the discussion tables and holding the hands of party representatives. Such negotiations often move from one European city, sometimes African, to another in a luxury hotel without an inch of progress. Usually, peace negotiations are often bogged down in ordinary agenda, procedure and protocol tasks rather than on the merits. As a result, they drag on for years while women, the elderly, children and all others suffer the consequences of war and conflict. However, this month something rare and extraordinary has happened. Two neighboring states, Ethiopia and Eritrea, have broken with this long tradition of endless "peace process", where the "peace process" replaces peace and accomplishes what seemed unthinkable there is a few months: put an end to a senseless war a state of "no war, no peace" of ten and a half years that had a devastating impact on both countries.
The May 1998-June 2000 war between the two countries was, at first glance, triggered by a conflict. sorry lands and had caused the death of more than 70,000 people on both sides, with huge financial cost and devastation. In addition, the war and its aftermath have torn families, friends and communities apart for twenty years. While technically the war ended in June 2010, the stalemate "no war, no peace" continued until everything ended abruptly in two weeks of diplomacy at the speed of the war. 39; flash. Although there are reports stating behind the diplomacy scene by third parties, particularly the UAE and Saudi Arabia, the willingness of both parties is undeniably clear. It is not a surprise that there have been light blows and invisible hands to encourage and help both parties come out of the stalemate. Whatever the case may be, the leaders of both countries have shown their unwavering commitment to closing a nasty chapter in the history of their bilateral relations and ushering in a new dawn.
So, what led to this historic peace agreement? the two countries? It seems clear that a particular type of leader has emerged in the person of the new Ethiopian President, Abiy Ahmed.
Psychology of Peace
The Psychology of Peace is a subfield of psychology that deals with aspects of peace, violence, and war . In a general way, the field focuses on the psychological aspects of the model, the intensification, the decrease and the resolution of the conflicts and the war. One of the areas studied in this file is "reconciliation-focused leadership" and its impact on peace and reconciliation. Daniel Lieberfeld in his work "Lincoln, Mandela and Qualities of Reconciliation – Orientation" studied the personality traits of three leaders and the "situational factors" that contributed to development and their gravitation towards peace and reconciliation. With the help of biographical data, he badyzed their personality traits. In his study, Lieberfeld recognizes that "Mandela's personality escapes the easy categorization of high or low levels of a given trait". It highlights the "opposite features" and especially the "evolution" of Mandela's personal attributes over time with special attention. personal identity, interpersonal orientation and political vision. [1]
The study identifies distinctive aspects of Mandela's pacifist practice, as well as aspects that may be common among peacemakers and accomplished negotiators. He concludes that Mandela's seemingly contradictory personality traits and his high degree of "cognitive complexity" allowed him to succeed to the separate roles of partisan negotiator and peacemaker and equipped him, more than any other revolutionary , for the transition to the post-liberation leader. This was clearly demonstrated when Mandela dedicated his life to intergroup reconciliation and the creation of a "rainbow Africa," a free, democratic and inclusive South Africa. [2] Mandela himself described the peaceful qualities of a leader in these terms: "As the gardener, a leader in peace negotiations must take responsibility for what he is cultivating, he must stand up. To occupy one's work, to try to repel the enemies, to preserve what can be eliminated what can not succeed. The peace-making efforts of the new Prime Minister of Ethiopia seem to be motivated by a genuine desire and understanding of the importance of peace for both peoples instead of political calculation. His normative statements and his symbolic acts are testimonies of his sincerity and belief system