The Quest for Autonomy and Politicisation of Differences in Ethiopia: The Case of the Alle Ethnic Minority

I would like to thank all those who supported me in writing this thesis. I would like to say, thank you, to my supervisor, Christine Smith-Simonsen (Dr.) from the University of Tromsø for her insightful suggestions and feedbacks that were invaluable for my thesis. I am very grateful to your continued encouragement in my emotional and difficult times. I am thankful to the Norwegian State Education Loan Fund (Lånnekassen) for financing my education here at the University of Tromsø. I also want to thank the CPS board for financial and administrative support during the fieldwork activity, and all through the period I wrote my thesis. Special thanks to my wife, Rahel, who gave me encouragement in the hard moments, while you are living under stress. I always thank God for all the blessings He gave us in our lives, specifically for our son Bereket. I also show my gratitude towards my informants in Dirashe, Alle, Konso, and Hawassa for crucial role they played in the process of collecting the data during the summer of 2009. At last but not least, I am indebted to all our family members as well as my friends, fellowship members and classmates for their constructive influence in my life