More specifically, the government tried to realise an overlap between ethnic and territorial boundaries. The making and remaking of the regions and local ethnic political parties in southern ethiopia has led to conglomeration of 56 ethnic groups into a single region. Ethiopia is a mosaic of about 100 languages that can be classified into four groups. He writes on the issues behind several months of protests by ethiopias largest ethnic group, the oromos. Ethiopia is much more than the sum of all the political parties and ethnic groups. Ethiopia is one of ethnically diverse nations in the world. As noted above, ethnicity played an important part in the creation of the nine regional states. The one prominent exception is ethiopia, which since 1991 has imposed a system of ethnicbased federalism that offers each ethnic group the right of self. It traces its origin to the kingdoms that emerged in the northern highlands in the fourth century. The findings of the intersectionality analysis indicated that factors that played a role in the making of birtukan as a. Ethnic politics and its effect on democracy in ethiopia by. Ethiopia is a diverse country, with more than 70 linguisticcultural groups. Ethnic federalism and its discontents crisis group africa report n153, 4 september 2009 page 2 ii.
Jul 23, 20 ethnicity, democratisation and decentralization in ethiopia 85 while using naked force to suppress the same demands on the other. The oromo, amhara, somali and tigrayans make up more than threequarters 75% 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. Today, federalism is increasingly suggested and applied as a politicalconstitutional mechanism to accommodate ethnic pluralism. Most of its people speak an ethiosemitic or cushitic language which are both part of the afroasiatic language family, while others speak nilosaharan languages. Lets talk about ethnicity and nationalism in ethiopia. Mar 29, 20 that is mainly why we do not see any promising development both from ethiopia and abroad. So far, ethiopia has conducted two decennial national censusesin 1984 and again in 1994. The case of oromo nationalism the oromo national movement has been a major potential threat to. 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. Jun 22, 2011 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. Peoples region the case of ethiopias southern nations.
Jawar tends to view ethiopia s politics and history as a field of ethnic contestation and hence prefers a system where political representation is organized along ethnic lines. Pdf ethnicbased federalism and ethnicity in ethiopia. My parents are from different regions of the country amhara and oromia, while i make a living in addis abeba. Ethiopia s population is highly diverse with different languages and ethnic groups. He expressed that the institutionalization of ethnic politics can be examined in the ethiopian context, and all parties ought to work together to achieve political convergence in the country. Making and unmaking of the nationstate and ethnicity in ethiopia 159 even so, the diversity between these groups is impressive. Previous studies have invariably explained this widely known and written about problem in terms of religious differences. The elections suggest that sharp divisions among political elites in ethiopia and among the various ethnic and regional communities have been salient since at least 1991, when the derg fell. For ethiopias youth, educational empowerment is the.
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. Ethnic federalism in ethiopia abstract in 1991 ethiopia established an ethnic federal system that gave full recognition to ethnic autonomy, while maintaining the unity of the state. The vast majority of languages belong to the semitic, cushitic, or omotic groups, all part of the afroasiatic language family. The current government of ethiopia came to power in 1991 and introduced an ethnic based federal system to address the longexisting ethnic and other political and societal problems. The judiciary is more or less independent of the executive and the legislature. The puzzle of ethiopian politics 1 the tplf started in february 1975 as a small guerrilla band in the northern region of ethiopia and eventually grew to provide the core of the ethiopian government.
The southern areas of what is now ethiopia were conquered in the late 19th century by the emperor menelik ii who created the new capital of addis ababa new flower in shewa. The planned 2004 census has unfortunately been postponed. The study mainly aimed at filling the gap of literature on gender and politics in ethiopia. This chapter aims at providing a general background about the politics of. Ethnicity, democratisation and decentralization in. Since then both domestic and regional politics have deteriorated, and regional conflict and authoritarian governance have increased. 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 of former marxist leader mengistu haile mariam and his dergdominated regime. Ethiopia must abandon ethnic politics or it will explode. Since the transitional government of ethiopia came to office in may 1991, a number of steps have been taken and policy instruments formulated first to rehabilitate the shattered social and economic infrastructure and secondly to lay down a strong foundation. Actors, power and mobilization under ethnic federalism, e. Ethnic politics and the cracks in the dry ground of the tplf.
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. May 8, 2020 the amhara regional state supreme court of ethiopia on friday sentenced former information minister, bereket simon, and a close ally of late prime minister meles zenawi to six years in jail on charges of corruption. If it is true that the italians called it the peoples museum, my family can be a testimony to it. The politics of ethnicity in ethiopia democracy in africa. Methodologically, the study was an empirical analysis of nature and dynamics of conflicts under ethnic federal system and politicized ethnicity in ethiopia since 1991. Politics and religion in ethiopia a thesis presented to the. All sovereign power resides in the nations, nationalities and peoples of ethiopia federal negarit gazeta, 1995, p. From the north to the south, the range in types of social system, dress, diet and languages far exceeds that. Abate mammo, a demographer, deflated the false sense of demographic reality in his article, population distribution in ethiopia. Much of the history of ethiopia has been dominated by poli tical wars between the two. Dec 22, 2016 ethnic tensions in gondar reflect the toxic nature of ethiopian politics from uneven development to authoritarian government, the morass of issues facing the city of gondar offer a snapshot of. While the silte are a muslim people, the soddo kistane have been followers of the ethiopian orthodox christianity for centuries.
So the preliminary question one should raise at this point is why the ethiopian state, as opposed to the society, remained unitarist, as opposed to pluralist, for so titled after donald n. A situation analysis and trend assessment a writenet report by sarah vaughan commissioned by united nations high commissioner for refugees, protection information section dip january 2004. He writes on the issues behind several months of protests by ethiopia s largest ethnic group, the oromos. Federalism in a context of extreme ethnic pluralism. Jul 18, 2019 ethiopia is home to a number of ethnic groups. That is mainly why we do not see any promising development both from ethiopia and abroad.
Media in category politics of ethiopia the following 11 files are in this category, out of 11 total. Ethiopian former information minister sentenced to 6 years for corruption. In this past decade, 19912001, ethiopia elevated ethnicity1 the basic form of political organization expression. Ethnicity, democratisation and decentralization in ethiopia. In 1991, politicians divided the countrys population nearly 50 million people at the time.
Under federalism through the 1990s, political representation and territorial administration were reorganised in terms of ethnicity. The findings of the intersectionality analysis indicated that factors that played a role in the making of birtukan as a public figure are gender, ethnicity age and profession. We will all go down together article pdf available in the journal of modern african studies 353. Ethiopians are ethnically diverse, with the most important differences on the basis of linguistic categorization. Ethiopia is a subsaharan country found in the horn of africa. 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. This was a factor in the dynastic politics of ethiopia. Ethnic tensions in gondar reflect the toxic nature of ethiopian politics from uneven development to authoritarian government, the morass of issues facing the city of. The politics of ethnic identity and conflicts under ethnic. 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 self. Past and present of political power in ethiopia power.
Politics and religion in ethiopia a thesis presented to. A stratum of the local elite of each ethnic group was encouraged to form an ethnic organisation as a platform for executive office. The politics of ethnicity in ethiopia african social studies. The government of ethiopia is structured in the form of a federal parliamentary republic, whereby the prime minister is the head of government. The imperial period 1974 ethiopia is the only african state never colonised by a foreign power. Despite rhetorically committing to multiparty politics and democracy, the political regime in power is markedly intolerant of political pluralism. Ethiopia is a multiethnic nation with cultural differences between its component ethnic groups. Ethiopian peoples revolutionary democratic front eprdf government1991current the education system of the current government is quite different from the. The country enjoys diverse cultures such as world famous cuisines, woven cotton costume. To the degree that traditionally the political outlook. As a result, all ethiopian ethnic groups more than 80, were.
Unity v diversity ethiopias ethnic federalism is being tested. African journal of political science and international. 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. This multiplicity in language, religion, culture, tradition and the overall identity is actually a beauty for the country considering the fact that the peoples of ethiopia have had the culture of living together without any narrowly and shallowlyfocused ethnic belongingness. This conquest brought nonhabesha people, primarily the oromo, into the empire and created a distinction between. Executive power is exercised by the government while legislative power is vested in the parliament. Protesters at irreecha 2celebrations in bishoftu, october 2016. According to a 20 world bank report, ethiopia had a population of roughly 94. Ethiopias ethnic federalism is being tested the economist. If the opposition really care about and for ethiopian politics, they must think and act out of their boxes their ethnicity.
Its new constitution created a federal system largely consisting of ethnicbased territorial units. Allo is lse fellow in human rights at the centre for the study of human rights. Ethiopias young people today need to be liberated from the darkness of ttplf tyranny and its ideology of hate, namely ethnic federalism. Since the transitional government of ethiopia came to office in may 1991, a number of steps have been taken and policy instruments formulated first to rehabilitate the shattered social and economic infrastructure and secondly to lay down a strong foundation for sustainable development in the years ahead. Conversations about change cease to center on shared concern like justice, human rights and democracy and turn to disputes over ethnicity. 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. The politics of ethnicity in ethiopia actors, power and. Ayichew abstract ethiopia is a multiethnic nation with cultural differences between its component ethnic groups.
Place of diversity in the current ethiopian education and. Reassessing the experiment after 20 years article pdf available in journal of eastern african studies 54. Political tensions date back to the formation of ethiopias unique brand of ethnic federalism. Ethnicity, democratisation and decentralization in ethiopia 85 while using naked force to suppress the same demands on the other. May 16, 2012 the politics of ethnicity in ethiopia. Here, a point that should not be missed in any intellectual venture to understand ethnicity is the paradox that surrounds identity politics. The case of oromo nationalism asafa jalata asafa jalata is an assistant professor of sociology and african and afroamerican studies at the university of tennessee, knoxville.