Call for Papers for 2026 Mid-Year Conference of the Oromo Studies Association
Conference Date: April 11-12, 2026
Conference Venue: University of Minnesota Medical Center, West Bank
Address: 2450 Riverside Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55454
Theme: Conflict Resolution & Peacebuilding: Honoring the Life and Legacy of Prof. Hamdesa Tuso
The Oromo Studies Association has over the years encouraged, facilitated and organized its members and scholars who study the socio-political, socio-economic and political history of the Oromo and other peoples of the Horn of Africa to present the findings of their research at mid-year and annual conferences held by the Association. OSA also has encouraged scholars of the Oromo to publish their research papers in The Journal of Oromo Studies (JOS). Scholars of many disciplines have taken up research of the Oromo and other nations, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia and the Greater Horn of Africa (HoA). Many have presented their findings and analyses at OSA conferences and participated in debates and careful assessments of the roles of the Oromo in maintaining peace and stability, fighting wars for and against its oppressors and occupiers during the past several centuries. Many who have studied the Oromo – and their legacy of successive governance of the peoples residing in vast territories of today’s Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia – have proposed that Oromo organizational features provided an underpinning that served to anchor the populations in the region. This suggests that Oromo forms of organization cement and ensure the coexistence of peoples of diverse livelihoods and creeds. The claims that these Oromo mechanisms served as guarantors of peace, stability and justice everywhere that Oromo influence prevailed deserve further study. Before the precolonial era, according to many accounts, the Oromo managed to create alliances with many large and small societies living within territories it administered and with many neighboring groups that were once rivals for influence and territory. These traditional forms of peacebuilding are the primary focus of this conference. Do these historical influences persist? Are they waning? If so, how and why? Can they be revived? What sorts of investigations are required to address the theme of the conference?
Previous OSA scholars have asserted that during the formation of Ethiopia the polity emerged as an empire state, with the once-influential Oromo society brutally oppressed, dehumanized and marginalized. The contributions of the Oromo to maintaining peace and stability in the Horn of Africa were dismantled and suppressed. Simultaneously, the official narrative of the region denied the most fundamental role that the Oromo and their immediate neighbors played in the history of the region. The result is that they were denied the recognition they deserved in history. The truth about the Oromo people was buried, and the genius behind the mechanisms that provided long-term stability and abundance was buried. Politicians and rulers tried to portray the Oromo people and other peoples of the south as peoples with no wisdom or knowledge to contribute to the making of modern political arrangements.
In the early 1970s studies about the Oromo people and their traditional institutions of governance started to emerge from a new generation of scholars. One such study was the book published in 1973 by the late professor Asmarom Legesse, “Gada: Three Approaches to the Study of African Society.” This work revealed a long-buried truth—that the Oromo are in fact custodians of indigenous institutions of governance that guarantee equality of all its citizens, rule of law, justice and fairness for all living things and for the environment. His meticulous research documented the existence of an indigenous democratic tradition that predates Western democratic traditions.
Since the establishment of Ethiopia as a unique form of empire state at the cusp of the 20th century, the Oromo people became victims of state-orchestrated violence and extrajudicial killing, persecution of people with dissenting voices or those calling for respect of the inalienable rights of all people. Millions of Oromo and their neighbors were displaced from their homes, internally displaced or forced to seek refuge in foreign countries.
Oddly, there emerged constant conflicts between Oromo groups who live in peripheral zones of Oromia on the one hand and neighboring ethnic groups on the other. Most of these conflicts, when investigated, were revealed to be deliberately fabricated or instigated to marginalize the Oromo people and disempower those who organize to fight state-orchestrated tyranny. The Oromo people and their traditional institutions, culture and norms call for peace (nagaa) and reconciliation (araara) when conflicts happen between groups and individuals. The Oromo land is described as a sea of blessings, where elders call for peace to prevail over everything living and over the environment. One scholar from the early years of OSA was the late Hamdesa Tuso, a towering figure of the study of Oromo Indigenous conflict resolution mechanisms and peace building. His ideas about focusing on the wisdom that shaped indigenous mechanisms for achieving peace are embodied in the DNA of OSA. He dedicated his life to studying and teaching African people’s indigenous conflict resolution processes, peacebuilding mechanisms and the role such institutions play to maintain peace and security. He believed that harnessing the indigenous wisdom embedded in these ancient institutions would bring prosperity to impoverished peoples of Africa today.
In honor of the legacy and life of professor Hamdesa Tuso, OSA has dedicated its 2026 mid-year conference to studies related to conflict resolution and peace building in the Horn of Africa.
Theme: Conflict Resolution & Peacebuilding
Sub-themes include urgent issues that require a focus and deeper understanding of the principles underlying peacebuilding and the processes of successful and principled conflict resolution.
1) Indigenous Oromo institutions: exploring the mechanisms of peacebuilding and conflict resolution.
2) Mitigating intra-ethnic conflicts in Ethiopia, the Horn of Africa and elsewhere globally: lessons learned from other settings.
3) Building peace and resolving conflicts among the Oromo and neighboring nations and nationalities (such as Somali, Afar, Sidama) past, present, and future.
4) Federalization and exclusion of Oromo cities Harar, Dire Dawa, Jigjiga: case studies of the impact of forced division on Oromo approaches to peacebuilding and stability.
5) Dedicated Panel: Remembering the Life and Legacy of Prof. Hamdesa Tuso — welcoming reflections on how he approached the study of conflict resolution.
6) Examining women’s leadership in Oromo peacebuilding and conflict resolution
7) Transmitting the wisdom of peacebuilding to the younger generation in a time of intense war, violence and undermining of culture. What is the status of youth in peacebuilding?
Other topics will be considered, but priority is given to abstracts relevant to the theme & sub-themes.
Abstracts should be sent to: oromostudiesassociation@gmail.com
Abstract Submission Guidelines
Formats: Individual paper presentations, posters, panels, and roundtables
Individual Papers or Posters:
Length and content: In 200-300 words provide 1) title, 2) specific contribution to the theme, 3) cite the evidence (data/materials) on which the presentation is based, and 4) brief findings or conclusions.
Include: Names of author(s), country of residence, affiliation, field of specialization or expertise and contact information, both email and WhatsApp phone number.
Panels:
A panel consists of four members whose individual paper abstracts are prepared as described above for individual papers but are submitted together as a pre-assembled group. In addition, provide 1) title of panel, 2) brief description of topic, 3) panel chair, 4) listing of the presenters with their abstracts and bios, 5) discussant with bio information.
Roundtables:
A Roundtable consists of a group of qualified scholars and prominent personalities brought together by a moderator to discuss a specific topic, book, paper or new research finding relevant to the conference theme. Submit a group proposal which provides 1) title of Roundtable, 2) relevance of the topic to the conference theme, 3) the moderator’s information and speakers’ names. For each participant supply 1) Name, 2) country of residence, 3) institutional affiliation, 4) position, 5) contact email and 6) WhatsApp number.
The deadline for submission is March 14, 2026, midnight.
Submit to: oromostudiesassociation@gmail.com
Acceptance and notifications will be made on a rolling basis, giving preference to earlier submissions. Final notice of acceptance will be issued by March 21.
Information about the conference will be posted at www.oromostudies.org.