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National borders embody a number of paradoxes: The boundary both separates and joins neighbouring states. The border delimits and defines the state and its territory, yet is located at the periphery. In regions where states are weak, there is a tendency for conflicts of one country to flow over into neighbouring countries and become entangled with conflicts there. This paper explores how the form of such cross-border conflict dynamics relates to the character of the two states in question. This is done through the comparative analysis of flows across Ethiopia’s borders with Eritrea, Somaliland, Somalia and Sudan, respectively. The idea is that the differences between the dynamics across the different borders can to some extent be explained by the differences between the states involved, and the differences in Ethiopian state penetration of its respective borderlands. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diaspora groups link processes of globalization and transnational migration to conflicts over homeland identity and territory. In some cases, diaspora groups have been generated by specific conflicts. Such groups often refer to a specific set of traumatic memories, that sustain and often amplify their strong sense of symbolic attachment to the homeland. Conflict-generated diasporas tend to be less willing to compromise and therefore reinforce and exacerbate the homeland conflicts. We seek to explore why some conflict-generated diasporas tend to give their support to the most divisive and non-compromising political actors back home. This paper proposes a conceptual framework to explore the links between diaspora groups and protracted homeland conflicts. The roles of the Ethiopian diaspora in the 2005 elections in Ethiopia illustrates some of these linkages. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]