Shared and Complementary Spaces for Development in a Multiethnic Setting: The Case of Konso-Derashe-Alle Area, Ethiopia

Broadly stated, diversity has a double-edged effect on development, both hindering and facilitating. It hinders development due to problems of plurality, such as incompatibility of interests and policy disagreements. On the other hand, diverse views, values, and problem-solving methods can foster creativity and innovation. An inclusive institution that values diversity and transforms differences into an asset, and one that contributes to mutual thriving, is crucial for multiethnic settings. A system based on shared identity and complementarities can be instrumental for this purpose. The mounting ethnic hostilities among six ethnic groups in the Konso-Derashe-Alle area, caused mainly by resource and administrative issues, worsen an already poor socio-economic condition of the people in the area. Despite the growing enmity, the groups share vast sociocultural and economic values and complementarities on which a cooperative system can be built. While the shared identities include shared myth of origin, inter-ethnic clan identification, and transethnic common norms of governance among others, the complementarities include common local markets, specialization-based economic transactions, and common resource niches. Given these, the study concludes that the groups in the study area are tied through shared values, common fate, and economic interdependence. To this end, the study recommends a shared society system, an inclusive system that fosters shared and complementary spaces for the groups’ mutual economic thriving and interdependence.