The Politics of Ethnicity in Ethiopia

Part of the Reading Ethiopia series

This book was written by Lovise Aalen in 2011 and it is unfortunate that I had not read this book until now, given the geography and topics covered (apologies Dr Aalen if you are out there). The author says this book explores a unique experiment in institutionalizing the politics of ethnicity: the implementation of ethnic based federalism in Ethiopia from 1991 onward" (p. vii). The data in the book comes from the mid-2000s for a doctoral study (supervised by Tronvoll). Two in-depth case studies cover Wolaita and Sidama, which have become critical cases for the topic of politics and ethnicity (the author correctly identifies the future fracture points of ethnofederalism). Still well worth a read. A few notes:

"There is no doubt that the TPLF as a guerrilla movement was inspired by the Stalinist theory of nationalities. After taking power, the front continued to believe that ethnicity was a natural and efficient principle on which to organize and mobilize the people as long as this mobilisation was led by a strong party. A clear indication that the TPLF continued to be inspired by the Soviet system and that the Soviet understanding of the 'nationality question' is that the Ethiopian Constitution of 1995 gives 'nations, nationalities, and peoples' the right to succession in Article 39. No other current constitution incorporates the right." (p. 35)

"Both the Wolayta and the Sidama initially welcomed the Italian occupation of Ethiopia, which began in 1936. The colonizers abolished the hated landlord system and did not expropriate the land, and they thus appeared as liberators from the Amhara oppressors. In Sidama, people rose up against their lords and collaborated with the Italians when they realised that the Amhara lords could not stand against the foreign invasion. When the colonizers left in 1941, the Sidama tried to organize Military to prevent the return of the Amhara rulers. This led to retaliation from the Amhara: people who had taken the Italian side were imprisoned, their cattle were confiscated, their land was seized. The Sidama today talk about this period as the second terror (hulettegna sherber) and recall that it renewed the suffering of what they call the first terror, which occurred when the Amhara came to Sidama for the first time during the reign of Menelik." (p. 75)

"The constructivist approach to ethnicity, however, underlines that we should not take for granted that ethnic groups are cohesive and that members of subgroups of the ethnic group always act in the same way. Every ethnic group is a collection of different subgroups with different opinions and alliances. Moreover, identities other than ethnic, notably by class or gender, and generation, shape the political mobilisation in a given community." (p. 127)

"I will argue, however, that in the Ethiopian context it is not actors within the ethnic groups alone who have revived the discriminatory practices. Rather, the EPRDF's promotion of ethnicity as the major organizing principle of society has combined with its pragmatic power politics in local communities to reproduce rather than challenge the traditional hierarchies." (p. 144)

"At the end of the 1990's the Sidama Development Programme, with support from Irish Aid, built a road on the Sidama side, along with a bridge, a health center and a school. This was done in order to give the Sidama population in the area, including those of the eight mender, a better supply of the services. The Sidama on the eastern side of the river started sending their children to the newly built school, but this was disrupted when the school was destroyed by parties to the conflict in 2002. These Improvements in Infrastructure on the Sidama Sid have been interpreted in ethnic terms: the Wolayta have argued that the developments were personally initiated by the regional president at that time, Abate Kisho from Sidama, as a part of campaign to disfavour the Wolayta." (p. 167)

"As the current political regime favors ethnic organisation of politics and has drawn administrative boundaries along ethnic lines, political boundaries along ethnic lines, political actors find that it pays to sharpen ethnic divides. Before ethnic-based self-rule can be implemented it has to be made clear which people belong to which group (identity discrimination) and which territories each group should be entitled to govern (territorial demarcation). This process may increase people's awareness of ethnic differences and may also create a potential for territorial disputes between groups. Groups of people that did not previously look upon themselves as ethnic entities may press such claims in order to gain their own administrative units. Thus the launch of ethnic self-administration has led to increased political mobilisation on ethnic grounds." (p. 179-180)