Intra-State Insecurity Complexe

After a brief scan of the major debates in security studies, the presentation will illustrate the limit of their application in the Horn of Africa, and the developing world in general. In this session, Intra-State Insecurity Complex (ISIC) is presented as a better analytical framework. The ISIC presents a diachronic approach to understanding security dynamics in the region as a product of the interactions of three security referent objects. It sheds light on contested notions of security between state security on the one hand and societal security – the security of ethno- linguistic or cultural groups – on the other. It also takes into account the relevance of regime security in the complex dynamics between state and societal security. Security dynamics in Ethiopia and the Horn region will serve as important cases to illustrate the utility of the ISIC. 

Fana Gebresenbet Erda is an Associate Professor at Addis Ababa University. He earned his PhD in Global and Area Studies through a joint program between the University of Leipzig in Germany and Addis Ababa University. Beyond his work at Addis Ababa University, he has held fellowships and affiliations with institutions such as the Center for African Studies at the University of the Free State and the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. Prof. Fana’s academic work is shaped by extensive field research across Ethiopia, allowing him to engage deeply with issues at the intersection of peace, security, and development. His research interests encompass resource politics, climate and environmental security, pastoralism, migration, land investments, and the broader political economy of development, especially within Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa.