Ethnicity in ethiopia pdf file

Data available as of 19971998 were used to conduct this analysis. Although the original physical differences between the major ethnic groups have been blurred by centuries, if not millennia, of intermarriage, there remain many who are distinct and unique. Peoples region the case of ethiopias southern nations. Particularly urgent is an evolving crisis in the southern nations, nationalities and peoples regional state, where the sidama, the largest ethnic group in ethiopia s south, pledge to declare a new regional state on 18 july, potentially setting off unrest and clashes between sidama activists and other ethnic groups.

Click download or read online button to get political parties in ethiopia book now. There is growing concern that ethiopia s prime minister has failed to address rising ethnic tensions and violence. Ethnic identity and ethnic relations in the post 1991 ethiopia 8 2. Preventing further conflict and fragmentation in ethiopia. The choice of ethiopia as a case study is in no way meant to suggest. This is a list of ethnic groups in ethiopia that are officially recognized by the government. However, postrevolutionary ethiopia continued to exhibit ethnic tension. Ethnic federalism and its discontents crisis group africa report n153, 4 september 2009 page 2 ii. Ethiopia s status as an independent african state allowed him to secure addis ababa as the headquarters for the newly created organisation of african unity oau in 1963. The worlds major faiths face a test, and some religious leaders are failing by endangering human lives in the name of adhering to traditionand ushering in a new age of secularism in the process.

There is not any one ethnic group that claims to be in a majority position at the federal national level. Drinking, rumour, and ethnicity in jimma, ethiopia africa. A stratum of the local elite of each ethnic group was encouraged to form an ethnic organisation as a platform for executive office. Political parties in ethiopia download ebook pdf, epub. The planned 2004 census has unfortunately been postponed. Addis negers staff fled the country after a government. Tplfs minority ethnic monopoly of the armed forces in ethiopia a revisit after four years oct 06, 2014 the monopoly of key government decision making positions in ethiopia by individuals of one ethnic group, the tplf led tigrean elite, over the past twenty three years has never had precedence in ethiopian history. The pmac undermined the patterns of ethnic relations prevailing in imperial ethiopia and eliminated the basis for amhara dominance. Ethiopia s liberation by allied forces in 1941, haile selassie returned from britain and ruled until his overthrow in 1974. Contending nationalisms are not a new phenomenon in this part of the horn of africa.

Federalism and the accommodation of ethnic diversity. Personal identity as well as cultural identity ethnic identity always materialise in relation to somebody else. It traces its origin to the kingdoms that emerged in the northern highlands in the fourth century. The oromo, amhara, somali and tigrayans make up more than threequarters 75% of the population, but there are more than 80 different ethnic groups. Community profiles for health care providers ethiopian australians ethiopia is located in the horn of africa, a region that has experienced decades of natural disasters, political unrest, war, drought and famine. Constitutional protection of ethnic minorities at the regional level it is argued that in order to evaluate the capacity of the ethiopian federal structure to accommodate ethnic diversity and to regulate ethnic conflicts, the research cannot be limited to an analysis of the constitutional mechanisms at the federal level. As ethiopia enters a demographic transition and its age structure matures, we must prioritize gender inequality and its implications for. Evil days 30 years of war and famine in ethiopia an africa watch report september 1991 485 fifth avenue new york, ny 100176104 tel.

Incidentally, the easy ascription of ethnic identities, especially by westerners studying politics and conflict in africa. The historical trajectories of local ethnic polities. Today, federalism is increasingly suggested and applied as a politicalconstitutional mechanism to accommodate ethnic pluralism. Ethiopia is the second most populous nation in africa and home to more than 80 ethnic groups. Abate mammo, a demographer, deflated the false sense of demographic reality in his article, population distribution in ethiopia. So far, ethiopia has conducted two decennial national censusesin 1984 and again in 1994. Arriola stanford university introduction what do the 2005 parliamentary elections reveal about the nature of opposition support in ethiopia.

Ethnicity, democratisation and decentralization in. Soon after the coalition came together, it introduced an ethnic federal system of governance to try and address historic ethnic grievances by giving ethiopia s different regions the chance to. The distribution of the major ethnic groups and their proportions in the population are provided in the appendix. According to a 20 world bank report, ethiopia had a population of roughly 94. Prime minister abiy ahmed, who took over in april 2018, has earned international praise for. Oct 12, 2016 ethiopia is the 5th largest producer of coffee today and africas top producer. The 1994 census data identified over 80 ethnic groups in the country. Journal of eastern african studies ethnicbased federalism and. Jan 24, 2008 ethiopia is a composite of more than 70 ethnic groups. The eprdf is a coalition of ethnic political movements, dominated by the tigray peoples liberation front. Many somali clans and lineages living predominantly in ethiopia have close links with or are members of such groups in somalia. Therefore, the purpose from the very beginning was to recognize and provide full right all citizens in this regard.

Anthropologists recognize three major population groups in east africa today. Actors, power and mobilization under ethnic federalism, e. Introduction much has been written about ethiopia s twentythree year experiment with ethnic. Second, there persisted violent conflicts between various ethnic groups over a wide range of issues. The introduction of ethnic federalism in ethiopia after the fall of the marxist derg regime in 1991 has been the topic of a significant amount of academic discussion, but little attention has been given to the daytoday experience of this change. The vast majority of languages belong to the semitic, cushitic, or omotic groups, all part of the afroasiatic language family. Tplfs minority ethnic monopoly of the armed forces in ethiopia. A and assefa tolera addis ababa university, ethiopia abstract the present paper is a descriptive study of marriage ceremonies and types of marriage among gidda oromo, northern wollega, ethiopia. That ethiopia is a widely misunderstood nation, no less by its educated citizens, is a lamentable fact that finds confirmation in the current debates on the implications of the historic 2005 legislative elections. Some new perspectives, held at the african studies centre, leiden, in november 1996. Ethiopia is a mosaic of about 100 languages that can be classified into four groups. Ethiopia s population is highly diverse, containing over 80 different ethnic groups. The introduction of ethnic federalism in ethiopia after the fall of the marxist derg.

Capacity building and state formation following the failure of the structural adjustment programs in the 80s, a growing body of. Click download or read online button to get the politics of ethnicity in ethiopia book now. During the last half a century, ethiopia has witnessed three regimes that differed from each other in ideology, internal composition, ethnic and social policies as well as foreign policy. State formation and capacity in ethiopia between the legacy of a centralised past and the promises of a federalist present emanuele fantini department of political studies, university of turin introduction.

Ethnicity and constitutionalism in contemporary ethiopia. Ethnicity in ethiopia is an enormously complex concept. Jul 28, 2009 1 an earlier version of this article was presented at the seminar on ethnicity, politics and memory in ethiopia. Population size and percentage of ethiopia s total population according to the 1994 and 2007 censuses follows each entry. Pre1991 ethiopia understanding the causes of ethnic based violence in ethiopia should start with contending nationalisms. The number of somali in ethiopia in the late 1980sgiven the ogaden war and the movement of refugeeswas uncertain. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about ethiopia people 2020 should be addressed to the cia or the source cited on each page. Causes and drivers of ethnic extremism in ethiopia 17 the flaws of ethnic federalism 17 exploiting opportunities 18 a fracturing ruling party 22 unemployment, propaganda, and social inequality 27 porous borders 29 5. Ethiopias displacement crisis is one of the worlds most. How social norms relate to gender inequality in ethiopia. Implementing new constitutions october 14, 2017 draft please do not cite or distribute i. Ethnic diversity is one of the most important attributes of the population. The aim of this paper is to examine the merits and the demerits of federalism.

Where applicable, decision makers must refer to the country policy and information note on ethiopia. Issues of minority rights in the ethiopian federation by taking the objective, subjective and the combination of both criteria of defining minorities, ethiopia is a land of minorities. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Ethnicity and the state in eastern africa edited by m. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of ethiopia people 2020 information contained here. Ethiopians are ethnically diverse, with the most important differences on the basis of linguistic categorization. See jon abbink, ethnicity and constitutionalism in contemporary ethiopia, 41 j. Ethnicity and local identity in the folklore of the south.

A brief recap on theoretical approaches to ethnicity and ethnic identity 42 situating folklore 44 identity and folklore 45 ethnic folklore 46 methodological approach 47 fieldwork and methods 50 chapter 3. A means for managing or a triggering factor for ethnic conflicts in ethiopia. The country enjoys diverse cultures such as world famous cuisines, woven cotton costume gabbi, the rastafarian movement, and ethiopian orthodox church among others. Most of its people speak an ethiosemitic or cushitic language which are both part of the afroasiatic language family, while others speak nilosaharan languages. Some salient examples are rwanda, burundi and kenya. Thousands flee ethnic conflict in western ethiopia bbc. The failure of the opposition to fill the power vacuum left behind by siad barre after his flight into exile in 1991 marked the beginning of disintegration of somalia. Education in ethiopia ethiopia is unique from other african countries in that it was.

Issues of minority rights in the ethiopian federation. Ethnicity and power in ethiopia edinburgh research archive. Evidence from ethiopia s 2005 elections leonardo r. Ethiopia figure analysis displacement related to conflict and violence context ethiopia experienced the highest number of new displacements related to conflict and violence in the world in 2018. Ethiopia must abandon ethnic politics or it will explode. The other fundamental difference is that diversity is a superstructure for unity unlike the.

Federalism in a context of extreme ethnic pluralism. Violence in the country significantly increased and spread to new areas, and four times as many people were displaced as in the previous year. The report examines the trends and levels of key demographic indicators for african countries, including population size, growth rate, distribu tion, fertility and mortality levels, age structure and international migration. The country has been an ethnically divided society11 since at least the eruption of the ethiopian revolution of 1974. A comparative study by tewodros yalew submitted to central european university department of political science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of arts supervisor prof. Draft ethiopia ethnic federalism university of chicago law. Thus, ethnic conflicts prevailing in ethiopia may be caused by such technicality problems and the ethnic federal arrangement in ethiopia needs an urgent reconsideration before the case moves to. The fact is surprising in part because ethiopia is enjoying a period of unusually good publicity. Even for distinct schools of thoughts, federalism mean different.

Ethiopian livestock population trends, distribution and. This paper discusses the issue of federalism and conflicts in ethiopia by posing the question. Opposition to the government which provides more detail on the political context and treatment of. The politics of ethnicity in ethiopia download ebook pdf. 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. In ethiopia, there is even a ritualized and ceremonious way to make and drink coffee. Pdf this thesis explores why ethnicity was introduced as the basis for the reconstitution of the ethiopian state in 1991, examining the. The imperial period 1974 ethiopia is the only african state never colonised by a foreign power. After 20 years of tplfeprdf rule, the dominant rhetorical figure in ethiopian politics is that of ethnicity, which has permeated daily life and overtaken democratic.

This has forced millions of ethiopians to seek refuge within their own and in other countries 4. I am most grateful to alessandro triulzi and stephen ellis for comments. The amhara and tigrean groups constitute approximately 32% of the population and have traditionally been dominant politically. Tplf which fought a sixteen year war against the derg. Traits based on ethnicity and religion are deeply ingrained and are not susceptible to elimination by ideology. Community profiles for health care providers ethiopian profile. Under federalism through the 1990s, political representation and territorial administration were reorganised in terms of ethnicity. Reform in ethiopia 9 spikes in ethnic violence 11 3. Groups in existence in the twentieth century are biological and social amalgams of several preexisting entities. Pdf ethnicbased federalism and ethnicity in ethiopia. It is a list taken from the 2007 ethiopian national census. Ethiopias ethnic violence history with oromos, amharas. This chapter aims at providing a general background about the politics of. Federalism is debatable not only in practice but also at theoretical levels.

The afar the amhara the oromo the anuak the konso the sidamo the suri the tigrai the somalis the arabs the falasha. Marriage practices among the gidda oromo, northern wollega, ethiopia gemechu beyene tuskegee university, alabama, u. Marriage practices among the gidda oromo, northern. Here, a point that should not be missed in any intellectual venture to understand ethnicity is the paradox that surrounds identity politics. Ethnicity, democratisation and decentralization in ethiopia 85 while using naked force to suppress the same demands on the other. Today, federal political systems are increasingly used by states with a multi ethnic population as a mechanism to accommodate the demands of their ethnic groups as well as to protect their territorial integrity. Jul 18, 2019 ethiopia is a subsaharan country found in the horn of africa. A means to an end daniel abebe the university of chicago law school draft prepared for conference from parchment to practice. The sidama and the wolayta published on 01 jan 2011 by brill. D these days ethnicity is much talked issues in the contemporary world, especially in the third world, so called underdeveloped countries by developed western countries. This paper is an investigation of the relationship between identity, politics, and rumours in jimma, ethiopia. It should be noted that the abiy administration inherited around one million internally displaced people when taking office in april 2018, mostly because of the somalioromo conflict that peaked in intensity just before the change of government. Ethiopia adopted ethnic federalism and restructured the regions along ethnic lines as soon as the eprdf took political power by overthrowing the marxist military government in 1991.

Ethiopia s population is highly diverse with different languages and ethnic groups. Ethnicity, economic conditions, and opposition support. Conflict and state security in the horn of africa 43 1981 to resist authoritarianism and brutality against the deprived people. Aug 12, 2014 the largest of the three groups are the somali, estimated to number nearly 900,000 in 1970. The demographics of ethiopia encompass the demographic features of ethiopia s inhabitants, including ethnicity, languages, population density, education level, health, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. Apart from a fiveyear occupation by mussolinis italy, it has never been colonised.

The oromo galla group represents approximately 40% of the population and is concentrated primarily in the southern half of the nation. Ethiopia is africas oldest independent country and its second largest in terms of population. On march 8, 2018, the ethiopian academy of sciences eas, in partnership with population reference bureau, celebrated international womens day in addis ababa with a roundtable discussion on social norms and gender inequality in ethiopia. Exploring the experience of the house of federation hof assefa fiseha, dr. Actors, power and mobiliza tion under ethnic federalism, is made up of a laconic preface, eight. Ethnicity and power in ethiopia edinburgh research archive the. Social groups may also compete among themselves in the definition of their respective identities and in their attempts to impose their visions of integration and development on society. Drivers of ethnic conflict in contemporary ethiopia. Territorial autonomy for ethnic groups is an important component of ethiopian federalism designed to deal with the challenges of ethnic diversity. While in many cases ethnicity and ethnic based antagonisms have indeed been a factor in conflicts and have often been suppressed within the structures of the postcolonial states with their seemingly sacrosanct boundaries, the political relevance of the phenomenon has varied widely. Ethiopia, like most countries in africa, is a multi ethnic state. The short profile notes on ethnic groups of ethiopia. On the instantiation of political ethnicity, ethnicity is politicized, politics is ethnicized and ethnic groups tendentially become political formations whose.