ABSTRACT
The chapter discusses the status, influence, and role of Ethiopia as a critical regional power in the IGAD region. It examines the “Ethiopianisation of IGAD” by unpacking the role of Ethiopia as a hegemonic regional actor in the Horn of Africa, and its “intrusion into Somali affairs,” using the politics of IGAD peacebuilding. The chapter provides an in-depth overview of the changing relationship between Somalia and IGAD, and the evolution of Ethiopia's influence over the latter during the various mediation, conflict management, peace operations, and peacebuilding process in Somalia. Ever since the collapse of the Somali state institutions in the early 1990s, IGAD has decided to be part of the reconciliation process in post-Cold War Somalia. From 2012 to 2016, IGAD played a leading role in the facilitation of state formation process in south-central Somalia. During the Cold War, the role of IGAD in Somalia was limited to the development sector, but since the collapse of state, it has expanded its role to the political aspect. In concluding, the chapter does not foreclose the possibility that the Somali people will someday regain control of the politics of nationhood and peacebuilding in their country.
