Zum nächsten Kolloquium im Rahmen des Herzog-Ernst-Stipendienprogramms der Fritz Thyssen Stiftung laden wir am Donnerstag, 01. Juni 2017, ein. Haile Muluken (Mekelle/Äthiopien) stellt sein Forschungsprojekt zu “Pre-colonial, colonial and post-colonial cartographic trajectories underpinning Ethiopia’s boundary disputes with Somalia and the Sudan” vor. Unsere Türen stehen offen und interessierte Zuhörer sind herzlich willkommen. Beginn ist um 16 Uhr (s.t.) im Seminarraum des Forschungszentrums auf Schloss Friedenstein.
Der Vortrag wird auf Englisch gehalten und eine kurze Einführung folgt:
Ethiopia’s boundary dispute with Somalia and the Sudan is a sequence of colonization, decolonization and post-independence processes. The boundary problems are enmeshed with legal loopholes, poor documentation, and irreconcilable political interests. A single map can hardly be taken as an accurate rendering of the boundary as sanctioned by valid international conventions and effective occupation. Therefore, like any archival material, political maps should be scrutinized through the application of standard historical research methodology.
The resolution of the ongoing boundary disputes requires, more than an understanding of the intricate historical processes, a keen political stance to renegotiate the boundary and the stakes involved with it. Resorting to colonial legacy would be helpful if the processes up to the post-colonial period are recognized in their dynamism, rather than through a self-serving selective appropriation of certain maps and conventions. Hence, boundary conventions and maps produced by various agencies could be utilized as a point of reference rather than a binding manual.