Ethiopian nationalism

Painting depicting the Battle of Adwa of 1896 where Ethiopian forces were victorious over invading Italian forces. The victory is cherished as an example of Ethiopia upholding its independence against European colonial powers, and is annually celebrated in Ethiopia in Victory at Adwa Day.

The conception of an Ethiopian nation by Ethiopian nationalists is stated to have begun with the Aksumite Kingdom in the 4th century A.D.[1] The Aksumite Kingdom was a predominantly Christian state that at the height of its power controlled what is now the Ethiopian Highlands, Eritrea, and the coastal regions of Southern Arabia.[1] The Aksumite Kingdom was responsible for the development of the religious movement that became the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church.[1] However, the expansion of Islam in the 7th century caused the decline of the Aksumite Kingdom, and most of the lowland populations converted to Islam, while the highland people remained Christian.[1] Since the Aksumite people became divided between Christian highlands and Islamic lowlands, religious and tribal tensions and rivalries between the people intensified.[1] The Aksumite society changed into a loose confederation of city-states that maintained the language of Aksum.[1]

Plain tricolour flag of Ethiopia without state symbolism on it, the Ethiopian tricolour is a common symbol of Ethiopian identity.

The establishment of modern Ethiopia was led by the Shawan people, particularly Amhara emperors Tewodros II of Gondar, who governed from 1855 to 1868, Yohannis IV, who was from Tigre governed from 1869 to 1889 and managed to expand his authority into Eritrea, and Menelik II, who governed from 1889 to 1913 and repelled the Italian invasion of 1896.[1]

Ethiopia, unlike the rest of Africa, had never been colonized.[1] Ethiopia was accepted as the first independent African-governed state at the League of Nations in 1922.[1] Ethiopia was occupied by Italy after the Second Italo-Abyssinian War, but it was liberated by the Allies during World War II.[1]

After the war, Ethiopia annexed Eritrea.[2] However, ethnic tensions surged between the Amhara and the Eritrean, Oromo, Somali, and Tigray peoples, each of whom had formed separatist movements dedicated to leaving Amhara-dominated Ethiopia.[2] After the overthrow of the Ethiopian monarchy by the Derg military junta, the country became aligned with the Soviet Union and Cuba after the United States failed to support it in its military struggle with Somali separatists in the Ogaden region.[2] After the end of military government in Ethiopia in 1993, Eritrea separated from Ethiopia.[2]

In March 1896 a definitive battle took place between the forces of colonial Italy, and those of the Ethiopian Empire in a town in northern Ethiopia called Adwa. The battle was short but extremely violent with tens of thousands of deaths. At the time Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia had mobilized the Ethiopian people regardless of class and ethnicities. The mobilization drive would see millions of Ethiopian Citizens march from their towns, villages, and cities into the Northern Highlands for the preservation of their African Empire. This battle would end in a decisive victory for Ethiopia, marking the country with a unique legacy of independence in the face of European Aggression.[3]

The battle of Adwa is the foundation for Ethiopian Nationalist ideology. For many Ethiopians, the threat of foreign invasion is the rallying cry for patriotic sacrifices and nationalist ideologues. By the time the battle of Adwa took place almost all of Africa was dominated by European forces. Ethiopian independence broke the mold of European superiority & provided a beacon of hope for black nations and peoples around the world. For many Ethiopians this moment represents a transitional moment, in which the nation realized its teleological doctrine. While the first war against Italy was a uniting war, the 1934 invasion by Benito Mussolini was extremely divisive. In Observation on the Ethiopian Nation Charles McClellan argues that the Italo-Abyssinian war of 1934 was in fact "as much a civil war as one against foreign aggression."[4] McClellan argues that the political and factional differences which emerged in Ethiopia prior to the war, were not resolved by the Italian invasion but instead were amplified. This in the authors opinion led to an era of bitter factionalism which would "define the dynamics of post-war Ethiopian politics."[4]

Since 1992 hitherto the appointment of Oromo Abiy Ahmed as Prime Minister the TPLF has had almost complete control of the government leveraging its power to concentrate wealth and development into the Tigray Region. The hegemonic rule of the Tigray people in Ethiopia was in many ways a reaction to the singular rule of Amharas for centuries. The hegemonic rule of a single ethnic group has marginalized many groups within Ethiopia and has led to a cycle of violence and retribution. In the early 1990s the TPLF believed that through an ethnic federalist state system, one in which regions were assigned and divided by ethnic population, they could

"reduc[e] the inter-ethnic conflict that has divided Ethiopian society for centuries; (2) promot[e] equitable material conditions in all areas of the country; and (3) improv[e] the efficiency and effectiveness of public sector performance at the field level. They argued they could use political and administrative devolution to promote these objectives without threatening other important objectives, such as economic growth and political stability."[5]

While these region weren't given "extensive sub-national control over technical policies, laws, regulations, and tax" their creation lent credibility to the different independence and ethnic movements around the country.[5] For Ethiopian Nationalists, this credibility has emboldened different groups, giving them more cohesion, whilst corroding national unity and notions of Ethiopianism. The increased autonomy of these groups contrasted with the increased repression by Tigray elites created a situation in which the ruling class was both empowering groups through greater ethnic cohesion, but transparently stifling their political will. As evidenced by the 2005 elections the TPLF use of violent repression to subdue detractors of the ruling coalition only had the effect of radicalizing ethnic parties and increasing ethnic divisions. Many Ethiopian nationalists view the system of ethnic federalism as having made governing in Ethiopia a zero sum game. To win power in Ethiopia is to deny any other ethnic group significant power. By expelling notions of Ethiopianism from the national political dialogue the TPLF has increased the ethnic cleavages and created a system revolving around ethnic affiliation, void of political ideology. In 2015 "after a master plan was unveiled to expand the boundaries of the capital, Addis Ababa" into Oromia thousands of Oromo youth took up to the streets demanding increased political representation, an end to the TPLF sponsored Master Plan, and avenues of dissent.[6] Although the ruling party tried to blunt these protests through physical force they only grew and Amhara "angered by an unfulfilled demand to retake control of some of their lands" launched protests demanding proportional political representation and influence.[6] After a 10-month state of emergency imposed by the TPLF, which saw the abdication of prime minister Hailemariam Desalegn, Abiy Amhed was selected by the ruling EPDRF coalition as the next prime minister due to his Oromo ancestry. Since taking power he has taken up major reforms allowing back political dissidents, releasing some political prisoners, and liberalizing the economy.[7] While his drive to reform and democratize the nation have garnered him support across the country he still has not addressed the fundamental issues of the Ethnic Federalist system, which in the nationalist opinion is the root cause for ethnic patronage politics and tensions. Ethiopian nationalists believe that Ethnic Federalism must be ended to shift Ethiopian politics from ethnic patronage to ideology, it must be ended to induce national cohesion and blunt sectarian loyalty, and through the blunting of ethnic cohesion induce an era of unity and prosperity.

Ethiopia's influential Lion of Judah flag.

• Ethiopianism

• Motyl, Alexander J. (2001). Encyclopedia of Nationalism, Volume II. Academic Press. ISBN 0-12-227230-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)