Mediating Political Space for Opposition Parties in the Ethiopian Political System： A Conceptual Framework

This conceptual paper proposes a framework for a mediated political-space in the Ethiopian political system that is based on truth and justice. The framework draws from the traditional Ethiopian SheglinaJmediation system as well as from the current state of the mediation art and science in order to facilitate peaceful conflict resolution process between the government of Ethiopia and the alternative political parties as well as among and between the alternative parties themselves. Seven positive steps that the government of Ethiopia may consider to take to create conducive environment for peacemaking are outlined. To actualized what is being proposed in this concept paper, three teams of mediators/shemagles are to be organized; Team one＇s role is to work with the government for inside-out negotiation and similarly Team two＇s role is to work with the alternative parties. A third Team is dedicated to instilling values of professionalism and integrity in public services and ensuring the future sustainability of Ethiopia＇s public institutions by offering the educational values of alternative dispute resolutions and peacemaking to the general public.

Urban Plazas:The Politics of Space in Urban Constraints

The most crucial notion in built environment studies,space,is forced to undergo a reinterpretation due to the influence of numerous social phenomena and cultural movements,such as postmodernism,the information age,and globalization.The traditional concept of time subverts time division and space restriction,along with the changes brought on by contemporary urbanization and postmodernist cultural norms.As a result,the urban plaza area,which is a unique cultural space,begins to take shape.It brings together previously different places,such as“public and private,”“political and daily,”“working and leisure,”as well as“physical and virtual.”The urban plaza is a useful research subject since it is a public area where the majority of cultural traits associated with urbanization are found.The spatial politics of the urban plaza experience a historic shift from macro politics to micro politics under the influence of postmodernism.Premised on this notion,the purpose of this study is to investigate the specific space of today’s cities,which is the urban plaza,as well as the politics of space and the in-depth interpretation of space culture.This study uses techniques from many other fields that are related to spatial ideas,including philosophy,political science,cultural studies,and geography.This study expands the cultural space of post-modernist interpretation of cultural depth of character based on the theoretical paradigm in multidisciplinary cross-application in order to enhance individuals’awareness of urban plaza cultural forms and further their understanding of its political and cultural space power traits as well as underlying meaning.This paper examines the role and culture of urban plaza from the perspectives of numerous well-known spatial culture theories in the context of the analysis.In addition to identifying the nature of the cultural politics,this paper addresses the significance of spatial politics of urban plazas.