 Intergroup Relations among the Ethiopian YouthTesfaye Semela Journal of Developing Societies, 2012, vol. 28, issue 3, 323-354 Abstract: This study examines the level of intergroup relations among Ethiopian university students coming from ethnically and religiously diverse backgrounds. The article conceptualized intergroup contact in terms of students’ cross-group friendship. It investigates the extent to which intergroup contact is affected by attitude towards other ethnic (IEA) and religious (IRA) groups, their perceived cross-ethnic cohesiveness (CEC), ethnic-orientation, and patriotism. Data were gathered based on a survey of 188 students drawn from one of Ethiopia’s public higher education institutions. The findings reveal that the majority of the students showed favorable attitude towards other ethno-cultural and religious groups, and attitude towards other ethnic groups (IEA) is found to be independent of one’s ethnic background. Nevertheless, while cross-ethnic friendship is negatively affected by language difficulties, failure to make friends from religious out-group is associated with strong conformity with the teachings of the respective religions. Finally, the article forwards policy recommendations for increased intercultural understanding and improved intergroup relations. Keywords: intergroup contact; ethnic identity; cross-ethnic cohesiveness; cross-group friendship; language (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:jodeso:v:28:y:2012:i:3:p:323-354 Access Statistics for this article More articles in Journal of Developing Societies |
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