Diversity and state-building in Ethiopia

In multi-ethnic Ethiopia, diversity has been a serious obstacle to state building. In fact, the process of state-building has been chequered with ethnic tensions, squabbles and conflicts. Although ethno-regional identity politics, at least in its most violent manifestation, is a relatively recent phenomenon in the country, its seeds had been sown with the rise of the absolutist state by the middle of the twentieth century. The political entrepreneurs of Ethiopia’s various communities have pursued divergent ways of dealing with diversity. The dominant Amhara followed an assimilationist policy (1889–1991); since the 1960s, the Eritreans and a section of theOromo political actors have opted for the secessionist route; and since the mid-1970s, the Tigrayans have gone for the ‘accommodationist’ alternative. Of the three choices that the political actors have had, this article argues that the ‘accommodationist’ path, despite its serious flaws, has effectively discredited both the assimilationist and secessionist options. Ethiopia’s current constitution may contain amendable articles. Its very accommodationist character, however, seems to make such amendment difficult, given the highly politicized nature of ethnicity in the country. In this sense, Ethiopia is permanently changed and the accommodationist formula is unavoidable in the process of state-building.