Description
Ranching is widely promoted as a technical solution to the protracted farmer-herder conflict in Nigeria. While successful in other contexts, the policy has encountered significant resistance within Nigeria, raising questions about its applicability in this particular multiethnic, politically polarised society. This paper contributes to rethinking international studies by challenging dominant assumptions about conflict resolution and governance in the Global South. Drawing on 69 in-depth interviews with farmers, herders, and peacebuilding practitioners, this paper examines how ethnic identity shapes the perception and reception of ranching policies. For some communities, ranching symbolises modernity and sustainable land use; while for others, it is viewed as an exclusionary measure, disproportionately affecting certain ethnic groups and reinforcing historic grievances. This paper argues that in plural societies, even neutral-sounding technical policies can become politicised, ethnically coded, and conflict-generating. The findings challenge the assumption that conflict resolution can be achieved solely through technical fixes, and instead call for more inclusive, participatory, and context-sensitive policy design that moves beyond Western-centric frameworks. The paper contributes to broader debates on securitisation, policy framing, and governance in multiethnic states.
