Ethiopia, Revolution of or reconquest of the southern and western

parts of the country. The penetration of

1974 state power into the conquered regions was
AARON TESFAYE facilitated by three instruments. The first was
the rist, a lineage system of land ownership
Ethiopia is an ancient polity. The modern that allowed highland Abyssinian soldiers
Ethiopian state, unlike most African states, to settle on land grants. The second was the
is an indigenous institution that goes back Amharic language, Lisane Negus (the king’s
centuries. This institution, after emerging in language), which was adopted by indigenous
the highlands of Axum, disintegrated into peoples because it afforded protection in
a dark-age period (1769–1855) known as claiming rights that others enjoyed in core
Zemene Mesafint, or the era of the Princes. areas. The third was Christianity, which was
In the late nineteenth century, efforts to spread throughout the country by the Coptic
reconstruct the state were made by a series Church, which ministered to the needs of
of emperors, Tewodros I, Yohannes IV, and the settlers and converted the indigenous
Menelik II, culminating in the modern state peoples. In the nineteenth century, with
and consolidation of power under Emperor the introduction of firearms, the balance of
Haile Selassie (1930–74), who was over- forces favored Menelik, who emerged vic-
thrown during the Ethiopian Revolution torious and proceeded to assimilate various
(1974–7). However, state power was usurped cultural groups – often by force or through
by the military, which allied itself with the intermarriage – creating in the process a
Soviet Union and ruled Ethiopia with an iron multi-ethnic nation. Menelik was the archi-
fist (1977–91). This regime did not solve tect of the centralized Ethiopian state. He
Ethiopia’s multifaceted economic, national, ended the tradition of roving capitals favored
and regional problems but exacerbated them. by past emperors and founded a center in
In 1991, the Ethiopian People’s Democratic Addis Ababa. To consolidate state power, a
Revolutionary Front (EPDRF), an umbrella strong monarchical administrative system
group composed of many nationalities, was created by the appointment of governors
and its ally, the Eritrean People’s Liberation who were mostly, but not always, highland
Front (EPLF), defeated the regime. Eritrea Shoan Amhara. Thus, by the time Emperor
subsequently declared its independence in Haile Selassie arrived on the scene, cultural
1993, and in 1995 the EPDRF established in categories had gelled, more or less, and the
Ethiopia a federal form of governance based empire had been centralized.
on ethnicity.
The modern nation-state of Ethiopia THE ANCIEN RÉGIME
was partly realized by Emperor Mene- AND MODERNITY
lik (1889–1913) at substantial cost to the
inhabitants of contemporary Ethiopia. This Normative scholarship on state-society rela-
included the colonization of Eritrea by the tions in Ethiopia during the ancien régime
Italians in around 1882 and subsequent for- of Haile Selassie has tended to inflate the
ays into the empire, as well as the conquest monarch at the expense of the people of

The International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest, Edited by Immanuel Ness.

© 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published 2009 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
DOI: 10.1002/9781405198073.wbierp0525
2 ETHIOPIA, REVOLUTION OF 1974

Ethiopia, depicting him at the center attempt- of the nobles by tightening the legal reins
ing to modernize an ancient society. This on hereditary rule. It provided a statutory
fusion of the monarch with the state has made basis for what was to become a de facto sit-
objective distinctions difficult. Yet discrim- uation: all power emanated from the center
ination is important because it contributes in the form of temporary and revocable
to our understanding of state power and its delegation.
relationship to the ancient class system and, Thus the constitution served to facilitate
by extension, to the Ethiopian Revolution of increased centralization of political power.
1974–7. In Ethiopia, the major contradiction In addition, Haile Selassie implemented and
in state-society relations arose because of the effectively established the beginnings of a
grafting of a relatively advanced modern- modern bureaucracy with the division of
izing political structure – a modern state, the country into 32 ghizats, or provinces.
a standing army, a uniform fiscal and tax Although the emperor’s political and eco-
system that laid the groundwork for the ratio- nomic policy was interrupted by the Italian
nalization of the economy, the setting up of occupation of Ethiopia (1935–41), it was
similar administrative and judicial practices to prove somewhat beneficial to the state
throughout the country – upon an ancient as it weakened regional bosses and laid the
class system with a backward economy. Thus groundwork for communication and trans-
while Ethiopia, under Emperor Haile Selassie, port between the regions and the outside
did not exactly resemble the absolutist states world. In turn, this link of the ancient polity
of Europe during their transition from feu- with the global economy in the postwar
dalism to capitalism, the state grew under years had two consequences. First, as a result
the shadow and influence of imperialism of the Addis-Djibouti railway, built in the
and shared broad contours with its European 1920s, the highland region experienced a
counterparts. This contradiction between old boom in development at the expense of other
society and new state and the insertion into regions and ethnic groups. Second, whereas
a global economy were to prove fatal to the
connection with the world economy helped
ancien régime.
to modernize the state apparatus and had
The foundation of Haile Selassie’s polit-
an influence on social formation – i.e., the
ical power was the ancient Ethiopian class
evolution of a nascent bourgeoisie – regional
system, which was rural and based on the
disparities in endowments began to emerge,
Ethiopian aristocracy and landed gentry.
exacerbated by the discrimination of the state
However, this foundation, although firm, was
against some regions leading to constant
by no means solid and varied over time as
strife and to open peasant revolts.
hereditary rulers in various regions overtly
or covertly contested the emperor’s rule.
Therefore, soon after his coronation, in 1930, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK
the monarch began to consolidate state power
by strengthening central rule and expanding The postwar years in Ethiopia were marked
an independent source of revenue, which by resistance to central authority. Taking
was achieved through the 1931 Ethiopian advantage of the fact that the state was in
Constitution that provided the legal and transition, several regional groups, particu-
ideological framework for countering several larly the Tigrayans in 1943, rebelled against
centrifugal regional forces. The constitution centralism, but unrest was also acute in Bale
aimed at eliminating the personal power base Harar and Sidamo. The grievances of Tigray
 ETHIOPIA, REVOLUTION OF 1974 3

had a long precedent: it was not only a center in the country, populated a large region
of the ancient Abyssinian kingdom of Axum, in Ethiopia producing most of the nation’s
but was also, early in its modern history, commercial crops and containing most of
an important region. Ever since 1889, the its industrial establishments. At the turn of
relationship between the state and Tigray had the century, traditional Oromo leaders held
been antagonistic, with the former attempting power under the highland Abyssinian sys-
social control and the latter seeking auton- tem of indirect rule. Some had become able
omy. The outcome of this strong opposition Ethiopian generals under Menelik, helping
to the state under Haile Selassie was the Woy- expand the empire. Eventual intermarriage
ane Rebellion of 1943, led by the Tigrayan
between prominent Oromo families and the
aristocracy, which was crushed by a coalition
Abyssinian aristocracy and royalty began a
of the central government and British forces.
trend toward assimilation among the leaders.
The Tigray and other revolts of the period
However, for the majority of the Oromo, the
resulted from the abuse of state power by
the central authority: most regions were situation was different. Land belonging to
ruled by loyal appointees, mainly though not peasants and pastoralists was appropriated by
always outsiders, who could be counted on political elites. As a result, the Oromo were
to bring law and order and collect taxes. In relegated to positions as wage earners in the
1955, the Ethiopian constitution was revised. industrial belt of the highlands. In addition,
It proclaimed several civil rights, instituted Oromo representation in educational estab-
elections, established a parliament, and made lishments was minimal and upward mobility
other reforms. But the constitution had no was curtailed. Thus proletarianization and
teeth. It was hobbled by several procedures discrimination contributed to class as well
and appeared to preserve the initiative and as ethnic consciousness among the Oromo,
absolute authority of the emperor. It is con- leading to nationalism and the emergence of
ceivable that the constitution was prepared the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF).
to ameliorate the coming federalism with In 1963 the southern region of Bale too
Eritrea. But the arrangement was doomed was in open rebellion. This region, ethnically
from the start because of a mismatch between composed of Somali and Oromo, is mostly
the emperor’s plans for a unitary Ethiopia and Muslim, bordering on Somalia and the con-
Eritrean ambitions for independence, which tested region of the Ogaden. The inhabitants
began in 1961.
of this region felt discriminated against due
During this period the province of Goj-
to land grabs by the highland nobility that
jam also rebelled against central authority.
were condoned by the state. The rise of towns
The rebellion has roots in the postwar years
and commercial farming removed peasants
when the province was rocked by agitation
because of its marginalization. Gojjam had a from their plots and displaced pastoral-
strong group identity, partly formed through ists and livestock along the Awash River.
its contribution of strong resistance leaders The Bale revolt soon connected to Somali
during the Italian-Ethiopian War. But the irredentism and the Ogaden question. It pro-
spark igniting the rebellion was the 1968 gressed through a myriad of intricate ethnic
Agriculture Income Tax, whose collection alliances and long periods of unrest in the
was implemented ruthlessly. Also during this 1970s, until it was finally quelled by the state
period, Oromo nationalism was on the rise. through a combination of co-optation and
The Oromo, among the largest ethnic groups force.
4 ETHIOPIA, REVOLUTION OF 1974

THE ETHIOPIAN REVOLUTION: AN battles with the police, arrests, and at times
URBAN BREAKTHROUGH outright murder of student leaders. After
the “Christmas Massacre” when the imperial
The Ethiopian Revolution of 1974 was essen- army stormed the university and killed many,
tially an urban breakthrough and a reaction some student leaders were forced into exile
by the masses to the ancient class system. The while others went underground. The move-
nascent Ethiopian bourgeoisie, which had ment reorganized itself and waited for a causa
attempted to take up commercial agriculture, belli, which arrived in the form of high oil
and the peasantry did not prove to be a force prices. Externally, the OPEC (Organization of
for change. The task was undertaken by the Petroleum-Exporting Countries) oil crisis of
urban petty bourgeoisie and the rising mili- the early 1970s raised gasoline prices in urban
tancy of the working classes. In the mid-1960s centers in Ethiopia and precipitated strikes
students at Haile Selassie I University formed by Addis Ababa taxi drivers. The discontent
the most radicalized sector of society in spread to involve students, trade unionists,
Ethiopia. While the class background of and the military. Internally, the realities of the
students is by and large difficult to determine, great famine of 1973 were exposed. The gov-
it is safe to say that they came mostly from ernment’s inability to cope with the famine
the Ethiopian petty bourgeoisie, that is, from and its attempt to hide the truth sealed the
urban families – traders, clerks, policemen, crown’s fate. However, even before the oil
or low-level government employees. Previous crisis and the famine, discontent among the
generations of university students were for urban middle class and petty bourgeoisie was
the most part reactionary. Their room and rife, particularly among the latter, as it could
board was paid for by the state, and upon no longer be absorbed into the backward
graduation they were guaranteed job security economy. In 1973 the beleaguered crown
as the economy could still absorb them. announced the formation of a caretaker gov-
While some from this generation supported ernment, led by Prime Minister Aklilu Habte
the brief 1961 palace coup by the imperial Wolde. This quickly gave way to another
bodyguards against the emperor, they were government led by Endalkachew Makonen,
for the most part reformist. But the new who resigned in August 1974. In September
generation were firebrands. They were highly of the same year the military, as the only
conscious of the conditions of the masses and well-organized force in the nation, calling
were connected with the anti-colonial and itself the Provisional Military Administrative
anti-imperialist struggles of African, Latin Council (PMAC), ascended to power and
American, and Asian peoples. They were arrested the emperor, who was later to die in
in solidarity with radical African students prison in mysterious circumstances.
who had come from the colonies and were The Ethiopian Revolution was swift and,
attending classes at the university – some at the same time, a slow process. It was swift
under Haile Selassie scholarships. They were in that the mass uprising caught out the
well versed in the works of Marx, Lenin, ancien régime, the military, and the vari-
Mao, Fanon, and Guevara. They formed ous clandestine revolutionary organizations
a university-wide student union, then a such as the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary
national union of university students. Party (EPRP) and the All-Ethiopian Socialist
On several occasions in the late 1960s Movement (MEISON, its Amharic acronym).
they organized student marches with the At the same time, the revolution took a long
slogan “Land to the Tiller,” leading to pitched time: although it erupted in 1974, the actual
 ETHIOPIA, REVOLUTION OF 1974 5

seizure of power by the military did not bourgeoisie, numbering between 22 and 24
occur until about 1977. The creeping coup persons. While the Ethiopian left, includ-
to dispose of Haile Selassie went through a ing the EPRP and MEISON, welcomed the
series of alliances with a variety of civilian demise of the ancien régime, it split over
revolutionary organizations, resulting in whether to support the military as a progres-
subterfuge and competition for power. The sive force that would deepen the march to
revolution began in 1974 with a series of socialism, or to oppose it as a reactionary
mutinies by the military stationed at Nagale force and an enemy of the Ethiopian masses.
in the south, and later by other military divi- The PMAC soon announced its National
sions in Eritrea and elsewhere with demands Campaign for Development through Coop-
for salary increases. The military were joined eration (Zamacha), which involved some
by teachers and students, who went on strike 60,000 university and other students being
demanding higher pay, land reform, and sent to the rural areas of Ethiopia to spread the
the scrapping of the World Bank-inspired objectives of the revolution. In March 1975,
structural adjustment program of Ethiopia’s the PMAC proclaimed the long-awaited
education system. This was soon followed program of land reform. Henceforth all rural
by demonstrations by urban Muslims to land was nationalized by the state, and the
demand their democratic rights, including size of landholdings and their use were set by
the right to own land. But the final straw guidelines. Tenancy and wage labor, except
was the strike called by the Confederation on state farms, were abolished. Thus in one
of Ethiopian Labor Unions (CELU), which stroke the PMAC destroyed the power base of
threw the country into turmoil. the feudal landowning classes. One aspect of
The Ethiopian Revolution can be divided land reform was the creation of peasant asso-
into three broad periods: a period of euphoria ciations, which were each allotted holdings of
and populism; a period of political confronta- between 200 and 500 hectares. But there was
tions and struggle for power; and a period no vanguard party to lead the way and state
of consolidation and institutionalization of capacity to implement the reform was absent.
power. The PMAC had inherited Haile Selassie’s
bureaucracy and there was much foot drag-
The First Period (1974–1975) ging. In some rural areas, conservative and
The first period of the revolution (1974–5) cautious Ethiopian peasants did not know
was populist, characterized by euphoria. what to make of the Zamacha students, who
The PMAC courted the general public by were attempting to organize them according
touting Ethiopia Tikdem (Ethiopia First) and to Marxist and Maoist theories.
Hibbrettesebawint, described as involving
The Second Period (1975–1977)
selflessness, a degree of equality, and the
supremacy of the common good. The PMAC The second period (1975–7) was char-
also announced that it was committed to acterized by political confrontations and
Ethiopian territorial integrity. Thus, soon struggles for power. In this period the coun-
after assuming power, the PMAC stepped try descended into total chaos. The military
up the war in Eritrea under the slogan of regime, now calling itself the Derg (Com-
Ethiopian unity. During this period the mittee), was threatened both by internal
PMAC arrested, prosecuted, and executed forces – the Ethiopian Democratic Union
leading members of the nobility and the (EDU), adherents of the ancien régime,
6 ETHIOPIA, REVOLUTION OF 1974

mostly in rural areas, the EPRP and MEI- The radical intelligentsia were becoming a
SON, and the Eritrean liberation fronts – and major thorn in the side of the new regime.
by external enemies. Somalia, which had Late in 1975, faced with tremendous prob-
invaded Ethiopia, fought for its own survival. lems in implementing the land reform, the
Ultimately the military regime, with Cuban Derg issued additional directives on the legal
and Soviet assistance, emerged victorious standing of peasant associations, their duties
from the Ogaden War with Somalia and and responsibilities, and the establishment
ruthlessly quelled the rebellion in Eritrea. of future agricultural cooperatives. This was
But victory came at a tremendous cost, and quickly followed by the nationalization of
there was a deep rupture in state-society urban land and an estimated half a mil-
relations. In this crucial period the course of lion urban houses and apartments, with the
future events was determined. The urban left, establishment of Kebelles or urban dwellers’
mainly the EPRP and MEISON, entered into associations. These urban and rural organi-
a protracted struggle for power. The EPRP zations were to serve as organs of state power
held the view that only a vanguard party and used to increase the capacity of the state
could deepen the Ethiopian Revolution and to penetrate and control Ethiopian society. In
that the military was by nature a reactionary addition, the nationalization of urban land
force. It began to infiltrate the Zamacha orga- and rental houses was designed to eliminate
nization, CELU, and the Provisional Office
the opposition, mainly the landed element,
of Mass Organizational Affairs (POMOA),
gain legitimacy, consolidate power, and pla-
established by the military in 1976 to spread
cate and win the support of the politically
its ideology. MEISON, on the other hand,
active population in the urban areas.
held the view that the military could be used
During this period the Derg, wedged
as a vehicle to further the revolution and
between powerful left organizations, the
began to critically support it. The debate
EPRP and MEISON, had no choice but to
between the EPRP and MEISON was carried
abandon its reformist agenda and commit
on in their official newspapers and pamphlets
and revealed key fundamental differences in itself, at least in theory, to socialist ideology.
their definitions of democracy and the way to It announced a Program of National Demo-
achieve socialism. cratic Revolution (NDR), which outlined the
In February 1975, the Derg announced path to socialist transformation. Radicals
the nationalization of the nation’s industries from the Yekatit 66 ideological school and
and appointed military participation in man- POMOA as well as the Politburo, which
agement, declaring a wage freeze in order included the left, had been established as an
to fight inflation and finance regional wars. advisory political body to formulate and flesh
In this process it neglected the interests of out the vision of the revolution. The NDR
the CELU, which went on strike to demand pointed to the primacy of class struggle. It
higher wages and democratic rights. The extolled the masses, and their allies the mil-
Derg’s response was vicious: union leaders itary and the progressive petty bourgeoisie.
were killed or imprisoned, the organization The military thus sidelined the left and
was dismantled, and a parallel organization, foisted on the ancient polity a Soviet-style
the All-Ethiopian Trade Union (AETU), was scientific socialism as a panacea for what
created. But radicals who had infiltrated the ailed the nation. But there was no official
CELU struck back, assassinating AETU’s vanguard party to implement the NDR and
leaders in protest against the military’s policy. competition to influence its direction led to
 ETHIOPIA, REVOLUTION OF 1974 7

bitter ideological strife within the Politburo on its erstwhile ally, MEISON, wiping it out
between the EPRP and MEISON. within a few months because it feared its
Popular conceptions of the EPRP and MEI- growing influence. Thus in one year, 1976–7,
SON saw the former as Maoist, mainly com- an entire generation of educated Ethiopians
posed of Ethiopians educated in the US, while was annihilated. In the same period the Derg
the latter was seen as pro-Moscow and mostly allied itself with the Soviet Union and entered
educated in Europe. There may be some truth an alliance with the German Democratic
in that, at least as far as ideology is concerned. Republic (GDR).
The major differences were that the EPRP
wanted an immediate revolution based on The Third Period (1978–1989)
people’s democracy, while MEISON advo-
The third period (1978–89) was a time of con-
cated a guided revolution – critically by sup-
solidation and institutionalization of power.
porting the military – as the masses lacked
The military became the supreme authority
the organizational and political sophistication
in the land. It adopted Marxism-Leninism
to consolidate it. In other words, MEISON
as a guiding principle under the leadership
believed it could transform the military
regime into a progressive force, deepen the of Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam and
revolution, and eventually persuade the men established the People’s Democratic Republic
in uniform to return to their barracks, leaving of Ethiopia (PDRE). In 1987, under Soviet
Ethiopia under civilian control. This was to advice, the government began to organize
prove a costly mistake. Other minor left orga- for the establishment of a civilian vanguard
nizations during this period were the Waz party. Soon a commission was established,
(Labor) League, Revolutionary Struggle for with Colonel Mengistu as its head. It included
the Ethiopian Masses (ECHAAT), and Abiyot members of the Waz League, Abiyot Seded,
Seded (Revolutionary Flame), the last-named and others, and began to call itself the
organization established by the head of Union of Marxist-Leninist Organizations.
PMAC, Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam. After a year’s work, in 1979 the commission
It became clear that the EPRP and MEI- announced the formation of the Party of
SON were not on the same wavelength the Working People of Ethiopia (COPWE).
regarding the trajectory of the revolution and Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam became the
open warfare soon broke out between them. party’s secretary general, president of the
MEISON allied with the military and began nation, and head of the military. The party
systematically to purge EPRP members from was envisioned to guide and deepen the rev-
POMOA, bureaucratic organizations, and olution, to oversee the transition of Ethiopia
labor unions and to kill its top leaders. The from a backwater of feudalism to a socialist
EPRP responded in kind, assassinating MEI- African nation.
SON leaders and even ambushing, without After the military created the party and
success, the leader of the Derg. In turn, the consolidated power, decision-making was
military launched what it called the “Red centralized in order to transform the country
Terror.” The EPRP, with most of its leadership into a socialist state. The first of these link-
murdered or arrested and its membership ages were the urban dwellers’ associations
decimated, abandoned Addis Ababa and most (Kebelles), the All-Ethiopia Peasant Associ-
urban areas and found refuge in the moun- ations (AEPA), and producers’ cooperatives.
tains of northern Ethiopia. After defeating The urban dwellers’ associations, a variant
the EPRP, the military turned ferociously of local self-administration, were designed
8 ETHIOPIA, REVOLUTION OF 1974

to manage urban dwellings and the AEPA structures that would fit the country’s
to implement land reforms. These entities nationality configuration. The institute was
provided a direct link between the center created because a critical bone of contention
and local areas. A centralized party apparatus among the left was the “national question.”
emanated from the center and spread to the The issue had its genesis among intellectuals
village level, maintaining coercive control at Addis Ababa University and abroad in the
over the population. It was used to control early 1960s and had produced factions and
production as well as restrict political free- cleavages around its application in Ethiopia.
doms, movement, and access to resources. Many groups accepted the Marxist, or rather
The Derg also created the Revolutionary Leninist, interpretation of self-determination
Ethiopia Women’s Association (REWA) and of nations up to and including session of
the Revolutionary Ethiopia Youth Association Ethiopian nationalities. During those heady
(REYA), mobilizing the majority of Ethiopia’s years, the acceptance of such a principle was
population. Indeed, by the time it had consol- considered a measure of one’s progressive
idated power, the Derg had created a complex convictions, and the question of whether
set of institutions. The problem, however, nationalities could be answered by the guar-
was that these imposing political structures antee of individual democratic rights was
were not buttressed by a correspondingly not even entertained. This strict line pro-
strong economic foundation able to counter hibited good faith negotiations on matters
fierce opposition by the Eritrean, and later that concerned all Ethiopians. In any case,
the Tigrayan and Oromo, liberation fronts. the recommendation of the institute was
that administrative divisions based on eth-
nic groups would not serve the objectives
RENEWED ETHNIC AND REGIONAL of administrative efficiency and economic
NATIONALISMS development. Thus the new 1987 Constitu-
tion of Ethiopia created 22 administrative
In short, the increased monopoly of state and five autonomous regions. This new con-
power and the selective political repre- stitution, while affirming the principles of
sentation based solely on ideology shut equality of nationalities under a unitary state,
out a variety of groups. In addition, the foreclosed the right of secession. However,
pan-Ethiopian ideology of the regime was this official decision did not prevent any
not accepted by Eritrea, which was seeking regional or ethnic group in Ethiopia from
independence, and it came into conflict defining itself as a nation.
with other group nationalisms that were in The most important regional movement
formation. The dominant ones were those was that of Eritrea. The Eritrean indepen-
espoused by the Tigray, the Oromo, and the dence movement started under Haile Selassie,
Afar. Group nationalisms were strength- with Eritrea claiming to be an independent
ened by brutal state repression. Although country based on historical grounds. In the
the regime adopted the Soviet model of 1960s Eritrean resistance to the central gov-
the state, it did not adhere to the principle ernment produced two groups: the Eritrean
of self-determination for Ethiopia’s ethnic Liberation Front (ELF) and the Eritrean
regions. During the heyday of Ethiopian People’s Liberation Front (EPLF). The fac-
Marxism, the Derg established the Institute tional struggle between the two fronts was
of Nationalities, which was entrusted with the long and bitter, involving many issues and
responsibility of formulating administrative lasting for years until the EPLF emerged
 ETHIOPIA, REVOLUTION OF 1974 9

in the 1970s as the most important and TPLF military solidarity with the Eritrean
formidable movement. Its source of strength liberation fronts that sealed the fate of the
lay in its organizational skills, discipline, and Derg at the center.
self-reliance. It was able to offer stiff resis- Meanwhile, in the south and west of the
tance to the military regime and to overcome country, Oromo nationalism was stirring
two huge campaigns, directed by Soviet and forcefully once again, organized by the
Cuban advisors, launched to destroy it. The Oromo Liberation Front (OLF). The OLF
stalemate between Eritrea and the central viewed the Oromo issue as a colonial ques-
power was broken when the Tigray region tion. The group’s objective was to gain an
entered the war. independent state. However, Oromo lived
Tigray was a quiet region in the early 1970s, dispersed throughout most regions of the
until its educated youth began to organize in country, and a unified resistance to authori-
order to resist the central government. The tarian rule was to prove elusive for some time.
region, under both the ancien régime and This dispersal of the Oromo population was
military rule, was simply a forgotten zone. to pose problems for the OLF in widening
It was famine-prone due to thousands of its base. In 1977, for example, it attempted to
years of agricultural practices that degraded reach out to the Oromo of Bale and Harar.
the ecology. It had little industry even by This effort was complicated by the fact that
Ethiopian standards, and no investments to
the region was claimed by the Western Somali
speak of. It was an impoverished region, so
Liberation Front and the Somali Abo Liber-
Tigrayans migrated to other places in search
ation Front. The OLF was more successful
of livelihood. This combination of famine
in other areas, however, particularly in Wol-
and poverty, together with the imposition
lega. In 1978 it opened offices in Khartoum,
of the Amharic language, gradually led to
making direct contact with the Eritreans. But
simmering resentment. Tigrayans felt it cur-
the OLF’s efforts to rally urban Oromo to its
tailed their ability to attend the university,
avowed goal of an independent Oromo state
while those at the top of their profession
felt pessimistic about their prospects in the were hampered by the considerable extent to
service of the state, since most of the senior which the urban Oromo had integrated into
officials were from Shoa. Thus, when polit- the national economy.
ical upheaval overthrew the old regime, in In the case of Eritrea, lowland Muslims
1974–5, Tigrayan nationalists were already who hailed from Karen and Sahel sowed
laying the foundations for a regional move- the seeds for the independence movement
ment, later known as the Tigray People’s in the late 1950s. These groups had been
Liberation Front (TPLF). It clashed with emasculated politically and had no eco-
the remnants of the EPRP Army in Tigray. nomic stake in the Ethiopian state. Because
There were ideological differences between of increased repression by the state, the
the two organizations. EPRP saw the problem movement was later able to attract highland
of Ethiopian society as one of class rule, Christians, among whom were workers, sol-
while the TPLF viewed the issue as one of diers, and students. Moreover, in later years,
antagonistic national sentiments that had increased nationalism and tenacity coupled
submerged class consciousness. Thus the with demographic concentration seem to
TPLF drove the EPRP out of Tigray in order have prevented state consolidation. Various
to prove to Tigrayan peasants that it was a military governors sent from Addis Ababa
creditable force. But most importantly, it was administered Eritrea, but only tenuously.
10 ETHIOPIA, REVOLUTION OF 1974

Tigray, too, shared a peculiar history of In May 1991, the combined forces of the
nationalism along with a deep memory of the EPRDF and the EPLF overthrew the govern-
failed Woyane Rebellion of 1943. Moreover, ment of the People’s Republic of Ethiopia. The
its close proximity to Eritrea not only made EPLF immediately established a provisional
it a target, but also led to increased solidarity government in Eritrea, ending decades of
with Eritrea. In time, the TPLF created an incorporation of Eritrea into Ethiopia. In July
umbrella organization, the Ethiopian People’s 1991, 28 political organizations plus a repre-
Democratic Revolutionary Front (EPDRF), sentative of Addis Ababa University met in
which was mainly composed of the Ethiopian Addis Ababa to draft a new national charter.
People’s Democratic Forces (EPDM) oper- Marxist and other groups mostly opposed to
ating in Gondar and Wollo and included the EPRDF’s leadership role were excluded.
the Oromo People’s Democratic Organiza- These were the EPRP, MEISON, and the
tion (OPDO) and the Afar Liberation Front Coalition of Democratic Ethiopian Forces
(ALF). Eventually, the EPRDF managed to (CODEF). MEISON was excluded because
defeat the military regime in Addis Ababa. it was allied to the former military regime
The decline and collapse of the state at the and did not recognize the legitimacy of the
hands of regional forces may be explained as Eritrean liberation fronts, while CODEF was
follows. First, the state’s abysmal record on sidelined because its leadership had served in
the military regime, espoused a unitary state,
human rights had alienated it from the pop-
and rejected the transitional process. The
ulation, fundamentally weakening it. Second,
National Period Charter that came out of the
although the regime had built structures for
national conference emphasized ethnic group
consolidating political power, these structures
rights and ushered in two types of national-
rested on a fragile economic base. The result
ism: ethnic and pan-Ethiopian. The first was
was economic crisis brought on by the colos-
the assertion of ethnic rights and national-
sal cost of war and the regime’s economic
ism based on cultural manifestations, while
policy of villagization, which undermined
the second was that of the older Ethiopian
agricultural production. This policy led to the identity adhered to by various groups.
famine of 1984–5 and was used in the north The National Period Charter founded the
as an instrument of counterinsurgency. Third, transitional government, which was made
the results of the land reform were mixed as up of a president, a prime minister, and
the peasantry ended up by paying various an ethnically mixed 87-member Council
taxes and fees to state functionaries and orga- of Representatives, the supreme legislative
nizations. Fourth, a crisis occurred within and executive authority during the interim
the regime, as evidenced by the aborted period. The TPLF, which helped found the
coup of 1989. The crisis was partly created EPRDF, and its two partners, the OPDO and
by increased conscription and mobilization EPDM, took 32 of the 87 seats. The OLF,
into the military, as well as by the tenacity of which later withdrew, took 12 seats. The ALF,
the Eritrean, Tigrayan, and Oromo groups the Islamic Front for the Liberation of Oromo,
and the resultant military defeats. Finally, and the Workers’ Representatives received
international alliances crumbled. The demise three seats each, while three pan-Ethiopian
of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, groups and many other smaller ethnic groups
which had supported the regime ideologi- received one seat each. The Charter legal-
cally and militarily, bankrupted the regime’s ized self-determination for all of Ethiopia’s
legitimacy. ethnic communities and the preservation
 ETHIOPIA, REVOLUTION OF 1974 11

of national identities within a federated to which the transitional government was to

format and established national/regional hand over power, had to be held within two
self-government. Further legislation set up years. In practice it took longer as national
14 regions. Five of the regions subsequently elections occurred in June 1995. The drafting
merged to become the Southern Region, thus of the federal constitution was a protracted
creating ten regions for the country in all. process that took three years. It reflected
Those self-governing regions, including the cleavages among pan-Ethiopian and ethnic
chartered cities, were vested with powers over nationalists as well as Marxists within the
all matters except defense, foreign affairs, commission. In the end, the commission
economic policy, granting citizenship, declar- prepared an “Issue Paper” for national debate
ing a state of emergency, printing currency, containing several precepts of constitutional
and overseeing major development projects government, including the right of nations
and infrastructure. The regions constitute 56 to self-determination, which according to
zones and 676 districts or woredas. the transitional government was approved by
The second reordering of state-society the majority of people. In 1994–5, the draft
relations was the change from a command constitution was approved by the Council
economy to a market economy. The transi- of Representatives and, after modification,
tional government adopted a new economic was adopted by a newly elected Constituent
policy aimed at liberalizing all sectors and Assembly, paving the way for the formation of
passed a new law on investment. Exceptions the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
were areas exclusively under central control,
such as defense industries, banking and insur- CONCLUSION
ance, and import-export trade in selected
products. The investment law provided con- The relationship between state and society
siderable opportunities and privileges for in Ethiopia has undergone three transforma-
foreign investors, including repatriation of tions, from the imperial era to military rule
profits. In order to stimulate investment the to the beginning of a democratic state. Each
government also passed a new labor law, stage has involved unique state-society strug-
which would take into account the interests gles. However, all three stages share a basic
of private investors as well as workers. It con- common denominator: an attempt to solve
firmed the right of employers and employees the crisis in state-society relations. The basis
to engage in collective bargaining and set out of political power under the ancien régime
provisions for the settlement of disputes. was rural and political power was centralized.
A major highlight of Ethiopia’s transitional A half-hearted imperial attempt at decentral-
process was the making of a new constitu- ization and, later, representative government
tion. The Council of Representatives was failed, ushering in an urban breakthrough
mandated to constitute the Constitutional that became known as the Ethiopian Revolu-
Commission, whose duty was to draw up a tion. The regime that followed proved to be
draft constitution. The commission submitted even more authoritarian and sought to solve
the draft to the Council of Representatives the crisis by greater centralization, which led
for adoption and eventually discussion by the to increased societal resistance. Both regimes
people. The draft was presented to the Con- dealt with societal problems through central-
stituent Assembly and elected pursuant to ization and undemocratic rule. They shared
the final draft for adoption. According to the a pan-Ethiopian conception of the state and
Charter, elections for the National Assembly, failed to address regional aspirations.
12 ETHIOPIA, REVOLUTION OF 1974

The new state leaders of the transition groups who sought either independence or
undertook to solve the state-society cri- autonomy. The EPRDF, which defeated the
sis through democratization, or territorial military regime with the active support of the
decentralization. The original objective of Eritrean liberation fronts, reordered society
the TPLF was secession from Ethiopia and based on ethnic federalism and territorial
independence for Tigray. Later, the TPLF decentralization. Thus the Ethiopian expe-
proclaimed its intention to remain within rience is like that of other African states
a democratic, pluralistic, decentralized that gained independence and proceeded
Ethiopian state if such an objective could to consolidate and centralize power under
be attained. The TPLF formed a political undemocratic regimes. One reason for cen-
organization, the Marxist-Leninist League of tralization in other African countries is
Tigray, in the hope of forming alliances with the inheritance of authoritarian state colo-
other ethnic and regional groups. This strat- nial structures. Many countries attempted
egy eventually culminated in the formation to decentralize power, but this objective
of the EPRDF, which claimed it represented has proven elusive. Ethiopian centralizing
rural interests and was organized on the and autocratic regimes have failed to solve
basis of ethnic group nationalism. It sought the problems of its society. The EPDRF in
autonomy or territorial decentralization Ethiopia decentralized the government by
that would allow ethnic groups to choose creating federal structures based on ethnicity.
how they were governed and represented. The issue of federalism in Africa is a thorny
The EPRDF thought to resolve the crisis by one. By and large, except for Nigeria and the
decreasing the power of the Shoan Amahars confederation of Tanganyika and Zanzibar,
at the center, increasing that of other ethnic federalism has not worked in Africa because
groups in the periphery, and bringing them most nations have not developed strong mid-
into a transitional government. dle classes that submerge ethnicity in a federal
This overview of the road to transfor- compact. Nigerian federalism is sustained
mation in Ethiopia has demonstrated the partly by increasing the number of states, in
following. First, the transition from the order to give smaller ethnic groups a voice in
emperorship of Menelik II to the later period the center, and partly by oil wealth. In most
of consolidated centralized rule under Haile of Africa the preference for a centralized uni-
Selassie may be characterized as a transition tary state soon after independence has been
from patrimonial to bureaucratic autocracy. due to national integration and economic
In other words, the modern political history development. The Ethiopian experiment is
of Ethiopia is the story of a transition from unique because it seems to have gone in the
a decentralized form of patrimonial rule other direction: that is, territorial decen-
to bureaucratic centralism, with Emperor tralization based on ethnicity, albeit under
Haile Selassie at the center. This bureaucratic tight fiscal control at the center. Whether
centralism was followed by the military such an arrangement will hold – increasingly
regime, which monopolized political power under conditions of scarcity and environ-
through a tightly centralized party apparatus mental degradation – and augur peace and
and instituted authoritarian rule. However, development is a challenge for all Ethiopians.
this brutal military rule under the guise of
Marxism-Leninism did not sit well with SEE ALSO: Mahdist Revolt; Sudanese Protest in
Eritrea, which was already in full revolt under the Turko-Egyptian Era; Yemen Socialist Revo-
the ancien régime, and other strong ethnic lution of 1962
 ETHIOPIA, REVOLUTION OF 1974 13

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