ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the control of a mineral site in the borderlands between Ethiopia and Djibouti by a para-sovereign power. In 2004, a non-state actor assumed control over Dobi Salt Lake, Ethiopia’s second-largest salt mining site near the Djiboutian border. This para-sovereign entity wields authority over granting mining access, tax collection, and providing protection to individuals and property in the area. The emergence of this para-sovereign power is elucidated through two arguments: the “substitute argument,” which posits that state fragility in Africa creates opportunities for alternative power structures, and the “deviance argument,” suggesting that African states have diverged from the trajectory of the Weberian modern state model. Both arguments imply that these new powers will dissipate as the state rebuilds its structures. Nevertheless, the concept of “heterarchy” challenges this perspective by recognizing pluralistic political arrangements alongside the state. Employing heterarchy, the chapter analyzes the emergence of a para-sovereign power controlling mineral lands on Ethiopia’s fringes. The analysis draws on key informant interviews conducted between October 2015 and April 2017 with the Afar people, Ethiopian state representatives, and investors, alongside a review of secondary sources.
