Ethiopian Elites’ Political Cultures: a critical juncture

About the Book

Recurrent ethnic conflicts have been seen in Ethiopia, especially during the last three decades, since the introduction of a governance structure of ethnic federalism in 1991. Attempts to bring political stability to the country have not been successful, as competing political cultures constantly struggle for hegemony. Political constituencies have fragmented, based on sub-national political cultures. This book shows the influence of Amhara, Oromo, and Tigrayan political cultures in Ethiopia and their contribution to the recurrent ethnic conflict in the country. The book used the concepts of political culture and neo-patrimonialism as analytical tools to understand the differences among and between the educated people from these ethnic groups. The findings show that members of each ethnic group are deeply entrenched in their own culture, with clear distrust of the political motives of other ethnicities. Beyond the disagreements on political history, the educated elites accuse each other when it comes to the many challenges faced by the country. They accuse each other of state capture, corruption, inciting ethnic conflicts, malpractice, poor governance, misguided policies, divide-and-rule practices, and misappropriation of the nation’s economic wealth. The elites themselves do not shoulder responsibility for any failure in the country and do not show any interest in understanding other points of view, do not show sincere respect for the other’s value but claim privileged political positions in present-day Ethiopia for past accomplishments.

About the Author

Solomon Hailemariam is a writer, translator, journalist, academic and was the founder and president of PEN Ethiopia. Solomon attended his higher education in Addis Ababa University, University of South Africa, The Venice Academy of Human Rights in Venice, Italy, and Åbo Akademi University in Finland, and he earned his doctorate at the University of the Western Cape. Solomon has written many books and The Young Crusader won the first Burt Award for African Literature. Solomon has previously been a country director of Panos Ethiopia and used to teach at Addis Ababa University and New Generation University College. Some of his works have been translated into English, German, French and Swedish. Born in Ethiopia, he lives in Toronto.