Despite the political liberalisation achieved in Ethiopia in the past two years, obstacles to a smooth transition remain. One major problem is the growing polarisation among political elites. Although this polarisation is exacerbated by current political power struggles, it is undergirded by divergent intellectual traditions about the past, present and future of Ethiopia.
Literature on the ideological underpinnings of Ethiopian history and politics has long identified contradictory schools of thought that can be traced back to the student and rebel movements of post-1960 Ethiopia. These underpinnings have been identified differently by different authors – for example Ethiopian/ist nationalist versus ethnonationalist perspectives, or nation-building versus national oppression colonial theses, or centre versus periphery perspectives.
Generally put, perspectives in the first category celebrate the antique, independent and glorious statehood of Ethiopia and the social cohesion of its
people. Those in the second category stress the relative recency, brutality and exclusivist state formation and nation-building efforts in the country and the diversity of its people. Both inform academic and political debates, and have had enduring policy implications.
Source: Institute for Security Studies.
You must be logged in to post a comment.