Roles of state and indigenous authorities in pastoralist conflict and its mitigation: Karamoja, northern Uganda: opportunities for peace.

This paper surmises that modern public administration has failed to adequately incorporate the influence of the customary governance institutions in Karamoja (Uganda), which still dominate large areas of decision-making, especially about natural resource and economical management. This failure has allowed violence and disorder to flourish, since opportunities for conflict mitigation and peace building have been missed and the communities remain alienated. The paper begins by trying to understand the history of the modern public administration in Karamoja, from colonial rule to now, and why the Karimojong have always mounted a strong resistance. It then examines the parallel system, that of the elders, and traditional justice mechanisms. The situation is then viewed in the context of the increasingly violent armed cattle raiding conflict, and various approaches by the state and elders; collaborative approaches are considered