He brought ethiopia into the league of nations and the united nations and made addis ababa the major center for the african union. Jul 18, 2019 ethiopia is home to a number of ethnic groups. Actors, power and mobiliza tion under ethnic federalism, is made up of a laconic preface, eight. Under federalism through the 1990s, political representation and territorial administration were reorganised in terms of ethnicity. Ethiopia 2019 human rights report executive summary ethiopia is a federal republic. Ethnicity and constitutionalism in contemporary ethiopia.
Drinking, rumour, and ethnicity in jimma, ethiopia africa. The making of enemies and allies in the horn of africa. According to a 20 world bank report, ethiopia had a population of roughly 94. Abbink and others published political culture in ethiopia. The land is our father, the enemy our brother, tig. Apart from a fiveyear occupation by mussolinis italy, it has never been colonised.
On the instantiation of political ethnicity, ethnicity is politicized, politics is ethnicized and ethnic groups tendentially become political formations whose. The failure of the opposition to fill the power vacuum left behind by siad barre after his flight into exile in 1991 marked the beginning of disintegration of somalia. As such, it demonstrates the palpable potency of ethnicity and its manipulative and flexible qualities wilmsen and. Related terms are multiethnic federalism and ethnofederalism this type of federation is identified above all with the governance of meles zenawi from the 1990s in ethiopia, where it has sometimes been known as zenawism. Federalism the ethiopian way published on 01 jan 2011 by brill. The politics of ethnicity in ethiopia democracy in africa. Though i was predisposed toward the ethiopia i had studied since the late 1950s, i appreciated that within its. Pdf democratisation has been the subject of much scholarly discussion during the past few years, notably the socalled that is taking place in africa. This chapter aims at providing a general background about the politics of. I am most grateful to alessandro triulzi and stephen ellis for comments. This redefinition of ethiopia along ethnic lines has. Ethnicity is a socially constructed category that has a shared cultural heritage, language, history.
As in previous elections, the roles played by ethnicity and tribalism are likely to be decisive. Then and now vibha pingle and ashutosh varshney i do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. The politics of ethnicity in ethiopia actors, power and. A comparative study by tewodros yalew submitted to central european university department of political science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of arts supervisor prof. Ethnic politics has given corrupt politicians and businessmen carte blanche to do whatever they want, from embezzling public property to exercising nepotism, and even holding the entire country hostage to their interests. Ethiopia as a nation, defining it as an obsolete empirestate, a prison house of peoples. Ayichew abstract ethiopia is a multiethnic nation with cultural differences between its component ethnic groups. It traces its origin to the kingdoms that emerged in the northern highlands in the fourth century. Democracy and the politics of ethnicity walle engedayehu after more than a decade and a half of devastating civil war, a dramatic turn of events took.
The one prominent exception is ethiopia, which since 1991 has imposed a system of ethnicbased federalism that offers each ethnic group the right of selfdetermination. The eprdfs ethnic federalism has not dampened con flict, but rather. I will not repeat the history of this experiment in ethnic politics over the last. Ethnic federalism and its discontents the web site. The demographics of ethiopia encompass the demographic features of ethiopia s inhabitants, including ethnicity, languages, population density, education level, health, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Ethnicity and ethnic politics in ethiopia by seble teweldebirhan addis ababa, november 9, 2012 nowadays, when someone tries to be less sensitive about ethnicity, heshe is considered unsympathetic to the rights of marginalized groups and their rightful issues. Actors, power and mobilization under ethnic federalism, e.
The historical trajectories of local ethnic polities. Haile selassie i, emperor of ethiopia from 1930 to 1974 who sought to modernize his country and who steered it into the mainstream of postworld war ii african politics. The imperial period 1974 ethiopia is the only african state never colonised by a foreign power. Ethnic extremism has been caused and driven, inter alia, by political factors, for example. Democracy, ethnic politics, conflicts, power, wealth. Related terms are multiethnic federalism and ethnofederalism. Federalism is often cited as the most effective way to manage ethnic tensions because it promises to give communities a degree of selfgovernment and it means that groups that lose out in. The profile of ethnicity was further reinforced by the 1995 constitution which explicitly turned ethiopia into a federation of nine ethnic nations but, as some have argued, without a corresponding devolution of authority and resources in real terms a consequence of this situation of partial federalization is that a number of states. Haile selassie i biography, accomplishments, death. Most of its people speak an ethiosemitic or cushitic language which are both part of the afroasiatic language family, while others speak nilosaharan languages. Most governments in africa, seeing the political mobilisation of ethnicity as a threat. He was employed on diplomatic missions as a defense secretary for his nation. The oromo, amhara, somali and tigrayans make up more than threequarters 75% of the population. May 16, 2012 download the podcast of lovise aalens talk on the politics of ethnicity in ethiopia.
A coalition of ethnically based parties known as the ethiopian peoples revolutionary democratic front eprdf controlled the government until its successor, the prosperity party, was formed in december. In 1991, politicians divided the countrys population nearly 50 million people at the time. The politics of ethnicity in ethiopia actors, power and mobilisation. Regional and national elections of ethiopia s highestranking political authorities took place in may and june 1995. This type of federation is identified above all with the governance of meles zenawi from the 1990s in ethiopia, where it has sometimes been known as zenawism. A stratum of the local elite of each ethnic group was encouraged to form an ethnic organisation as a platform for executive office. Apart from a fiveyear occupation by mussolinis italy. Nov 09, 2012 ethnicity and ethnic politics in ethiopia by seble teweldebirhan addis ababa, november 9, 2012 nowadays, when someone tries to be less sensitive about ethnicity, heshe is considered unsympathetic to the rights of marginalized groups and their rightful issues. In terms of the number of parties operating, ethiopias party system is best characterized by dominant.
A balance sheet of post1991 ethnically based federalism the political transition in ethiopia in 1991 came at a time when there were high hopes among africans, civilsociety organizations, the international community and scholars for processes of democratisation. This expression captures the essence of what constitutes social order in tigray and the ancient highlands of abyssinia individuals relatio. From the north to the south, the range in types of social system, dress, diet and languages far exceeds that. The demographics of ethiopia encompass the demographic features of ethiopias inhabitants, including ethnicity, languages, population density, education level, health, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Politics related to ethiopia has become so heavily ethnicized that we have a difficult time distinguishing between ideology and identity. Morality and politics with reference to machiavellis the prince mohammed seid ali, ma bahir dar universityethiopia abstract niccolo machiavelli 1469 1527 was an italian statesman and political writer. This paper is an investigation of the relationship between identity, politics, and rumours in jimma, ethiopia. Where applicable, decision makers must refer to the country policy and information note on ethiopia. The current development of politicising ethnicity, unfortunately, is equally unfair, if not outright dangerous. The main change was that the country was divided into nine ethnicallybased states. Eprdf higher officials and prominent figures are the main calibrates in creating conflicts between ethnic groups to assure continuation of the regime. Ethiopians are ethnically diverse, with the most important differences on the basis of linguistic categorization.
So much of the discord and paralysis in the prorights movement in ethiopia and the diaspora comes down to one factor. Actors, power and mobilisation under ethnic federalism download download pdf. This book provides a detailed empirical study of this system at work in the complex multiethnic environment of southern ethiopia. Most governments in africa, seeing the political mobilisation of ethnicity as a threat, have rejected the use of ethnic differences as. Politics of ethnicity is a primordial thinking and mode of existence but in contemporary society it is a disguised pseudo political movement that has no social basis in its origin but designed purposely to emotionally manipulate and drive members to be sensational loyal fighters, nonreasoning and thinking human beings, to the movement, in. Past and present of political power in ethiopia power. View of lovise aalen, the politics of ethnicity in ethiopia. Download fulltext pdf opposition politics and ethnicity in ethiopia. From the north to the south, the range in types of social system, dress, diet and languages far exceeds that to be found elsewhere in the world. Ethiopia is africas oldest independent country and its second largest in terms of population. The country enjoys diverse cultures such as world famous cuisines, woven cotton costume. Jul 28, 2009 1 an earlier version of this article was presented at the seminar on ethnicity, politics and memory in ethiopia. We will all go down together article pdf available in the journal of modern african studies 353.
Experts say politicians beat the drum while many dance to the. Ethiopia s population is highly diverse with different languages and ethnic groups. Epps have been using ethnicity as the main means of political support, and nonof them emerged out of preexisting civil society organizations, ethiopias party system is not yet programmatic. Lets talk about ethnicity and nationalism in ethiopia. Jun 24, 2015 eprdf higher officials and prominent figures are the main calibrates in creating conflicts between ethnic groups to assure continuation of the regime. Conflict and state security in the horn of africa 43 1981 to resist authoritarianism and brutality against the deprived people. Political tensions date back to the formation of ethiopias unique brand of ethnic federalism. Identity politics, democratisation and state building in.
Instead, the paper aims to contribute to our understanding of the nature of the relationships by exploring how they have unfolded in ethiopias fifteenyearold federal arrangement. Actors, power and mobilisation under ethnic federalism to the african studies seminar at oxford university below. Democracy and the politics of ethnicity walle engedayehu after more than a decade and a half of devastating civil war, a dramatic turn of events took place in ethiopia in may 1991, culminating in the ouster. Jun 24, 2019 ethiopia is africas oldest independent country and its second largest in terms of population. The course includes theoretical and multicountry studies of ethnic politics and also includes indepth case studies of nigeria, the united states, southern africa, india, and sudan. Drinking, rumour, and ethnicity in jimma, ethiopia. Zenawi, has radically reformed ethiopias political sys tem. Most governments in africa, seeing the political mobilisation of ethnicity as a threat, have rejected the use of ethnic differences as an explicit basis for political representation. Journal of eastern african studies ethnicbased federalism and. Ethnic politics and its effect on democracy in ethiopia by.
The one prominent exception is ethiopia, which since 1991 has imposed a system of ethnic based federalism that offers each ethnic group the right of selfdetermination. Ethnic federalism is a federal system of national government in which the federated units are defined according to ethnicity. Ethnic politics in ethiopia and the church publish your. Ethnic politics in ethiopia and the church subtitle ethnicity course integrated grade aauthor yoseph shibeshi author year 2011 pages 20 catalog number v230618 isbn book 9783656472025 file size 435 kb language english notes. It finds that ethnic selfrule, in combination with the power politics of an authoritarian regime, has produced both intended and unintended outcomes. Ethiopia is a mosaic of about 100 languages that can be classified into four groups.
The vast majority of languages belong to the semitic, cushitic, or omotic groups, all part of the afroasiatic language family. Conflict in south sudan and the challenges ahead congressional research service summary south sudan, which separated from sudan in 2011 after almost 40 years of civil war, was drawn into a devastating new conflict in late 20, when a political dispute that overlapped with preexisting ethnic and political fault lines turned violent. Social groups may also compete among themselves in the definition of their respective identities and in their attempts to impose their visions of integration and development on society. Some new perspectives, held at the african studies centre, leiden, in november 1996. Ethnic politics in ethiopia and the church ethnicity yoseph shibeshi essay sociology religion publish your bachelors or masters thesis, dissertation, term paper or essay. Jun 22, 2011 this book provides a detailed empirical study of this system at work in the complex multiethnic environment of southern ethiopia. I want the cultures of all lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. The sidama and the wolayta published on 01 jan 2011 by brill.
Request the article directly from the author on researchgate. Download the podcast of lovise aalens talk on the politics of ethnicity in ethiopia. The one prominent exception is ethiopia, which since 1991 has see more. Ethiopia is a subsaharan country found in the horn of africa. Opposition to the government which provides more detail on the political context and treatment of. The introduction of ethnic federalism in ethiopia after the fall of the marxist derg regime in 1991 has been the topic of a significant amount of academic discussion, but little attention has been given to the daytoday experience of this change. Meretna abona eya eti tselaei dima hawna was the expression used by an elderly tigrayan peasant to explain to me the convoluted reasons for the eritreanethiopian war 19982000. Ethnic federalism and its discontents crisis group africa report n153, 4 september 2009 page 2 ii. This paper examines ethnic politics and its effect on democracy in ethiopia.
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