Ethiopian nationalism, also referred to as Ethiopianism or Ethiopianness (, Ityop̣p̣yawinnät), according to its proponents, asserts that Ethiopians are a single nation, and promotes the social equality of all component ethnic groups. Ethiopian people as a whole regardless of ethnicity constitute sovereignty as one polity. Ethiopian nationalism is a type of civic nationalism in that it is multi-ethnic in nature, and promotes multiculturalism.
Opponents of Ethiopian nationalism, on the other hand, claim that for more than a century, it was a vehicle through which a supposedly Amhara ruling elite pursued an assimilation policy and consolidated power.
There are varying perspectives on the definition and history of Ethiopian nationalism.
Perspectives
Proponents The view espoused by Ethiopian nationalists is that Ethiopian civic nationalism is in contrast to and in opposition against ethno-nationalist supremacism fueled by ethnic federalist policies introduced by the EPRDF in which Ethiopian nationalists claim that regional subdivisions of the state were segregated according to ethnicity brought about by the partitioning and dissolution of traditionally multi-ethnic regions causing the internal displacement of people through internal population transfers. However, there has been opposition to multi-ethnic Ethiopian civic nationalism from ethnic nationalist and separatists groups as seen in the surge of ethnic tensions between various Ethiopian ethnic groups and political parties most notably among the most populous ethnic groups in the country such as the Amhara, Oromo, Somali, and Tigray peoples, most of whom who have separatist movements among their ranks, and conflict between Ethiopia and various ethnic groups that make up the Eritrean population with Eritrean Provincial Separatists vying for and later accomplishing the independence of Eritrea (who had already formed their own region specific Eritrean Nationalism and national identity of the Eritreans which has keen similarities to that of Ethiopian civic nationalism because of its multi-ethnic nature). In the aftermath of the Shewan Neftenya period that occurred, as a result of feudal lords from Shewa settling in the southern regions, other ethnic groups assimilated into the royal court culture by adopting the Amharic language, Orthodox Christianity, and other aristocratic cultural traits. The Amhara culture-influenced royal court culture dominated throughout the eras of military and monarchic rule. Both peasant Amhara culture and Ethiopian Empire royal court culture have heavily influenced each other; this Ethiopian royal court culture (that influenced and was influenced by Amhara culture) but is separate from traditional peasant Amhara culture, dominated throughout the eras of monarchic and military rule. The difference between the average Amhara people (mostly a peasant class) and high status royal court class (which was multi-ethnic but fluently Amharic-speaking & Christian) are described by Siegfried Pausewang, who stated that: "the term Amhara relates in contemporary Ethiopia to two different and distinct social groups. The ethnic group of the Amhara, mostly a peasant population, is different from a mixed group of urban people coming from different ethnic background, who have adopted Amharic as a common language and identify themselves as Ethiopians". Due to language and certain cultural similarities, the multi-ethnic ruling class of the monarchic and military eras has somewhat erroneously been described as an Amhara ruling class, in addition to the occasionally debated existence of a distinct group called the Amhara people during the time periods in question,Cohen, Gideon P. E. (2000). "Language and Ethnic Boundaries: Perceptions of Identity Expressed through Attitudes towards the Use of Language Education in Southern Ethiopia". Northeast African Studies. 7 (3): 189–206. . . .Tazebew, Tezera (2021). "Amhara nationalism: The empire strikes back". African Affairs. 120 (479): 297–313. .Yates, Brian J. (2017). "Ethnicity as a Hindrance for Understanding Ethiopian History: An Argument Against an Ethnic Late Nineteenth Century". History in Africa. 44: 101–131. . .Gashaw, Solomon (1993). "Nationalism and Ethnic Conflict in Ethiopia". In Young, Crawford (ed.). The Rising Tide of Cultural Pluralism: The Nation-State at Bay?. Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 138–157. Teka, Tegegne (1998). "Amhara ethnicity in the making". In Salih, M.A. Mohamed; Markakis, John (eds.). Ethnicity and the State in Eastern Africa. Uppsala: Nordiska Afrikaininstutet. pp. 116–126. Taddese, Takkele (1994). "Do the Amhara Exist as a Distinct Ethnic Group?". In Marcus, Harold G. (ed.). New Trends in Ethiopian Studies: Papers of the 12th International Conference of Ethiopian Studies. II. Lawrenceville, NJ: Red Sea Press. pp. 168–186. . has made the terms interchangeable.
Opponents Opponents of Ethiopian nationalism claim that it is a political ideology centered on the unification of Ethiopian identity through coercive assimilation into Amhara and Tigrayan culture and (mostly Orthodox) Christian domination. Critics claim that the ideology was promulgated throughout history, from Ethiopian Empire through the Derg era. For more than a century, an assimilated urban Amhara ruling elite used this ideology to pursue an assimilation policy and consolidate power. They view the conflict as having started between Abyssinia, ruled largely by Amhara, Tigrayan, Agew, and northern Oromo ethnic groups, and various subjugated ethnic groups such as southern Oromo, Sidama, and Somali people, among many others. In 1991, Eritrea achieved de facto independence as the Derg collapsed and the TPLF assumed power and created an ethnic-federal state. The Amhara language & culture dominated throughout the eras of military and monarchic rule. Both the Haile Selassie and Derg governments relocated numerous Amhara people into southern Ethiopia including the present-day Oromia Region, where they served in government administration, courts, church and even in schools, where Oromo texts were eliminated and replaced by national Amharic ones. As a result of this assimilation, ethnic tensions surged against the Neftenya system where the Oromo, Somali, and even the Tigray peoples, each of whom had formed separatist movements such as the OLF, TPLF, ELF and ONLF struggled to leave the Ethiopian Empire, which led to the Ethiopian Civil War. The Tigrayans have historically been a part and parcel of the core of Ethiopian identity, along with the Amhara and Agew, and have spoken Amharic alongside their native Tigrinya & Agew for centuries. They follow the same Ethiopian Orthodox faith. Tigrayan nationalism arose out of a conflict with Haile Selassie's regime over some aspects of autonomy, not over ethnicity. Tigrayans have always been Ethiopian nationalists and are ethnically, culturally, and (for the most part) ideologically kin to the Amhara. Ethiopian nationalism has never been opposed by Tigray region historically, and during the rule of Emperor Yohannes that region was the administrative seat of the expanding Ethiopian empire. Oromo ethnic nationalism is more complex, and has deeper historical grievances, and stems from a more distinctly different culture, religion, and language to those of the Christian and Semitic-speaking elite. Oromian regional and Ethiopian civic nationalists have conflicting narratives over the status of Addis Ababa. Oromo ethnic nationalists claim that Addis Ababa should be ceded to Oromia Region and/or led by Oromo people, while Ethiopian civic nationalists believe that it should stay as an independently-administered city with leadership open to all people regardless of component ethnicity. The pre-1992 Ethiopian elites had generally perceived strong Oromo identity and languages as hindrances to Ethiopian national identity expansion.
Originating from ancient D'mt, and reaching powerful heights during the Aksumite Empire - which was the first kingdom for their unified civilization and social integration to adopt the name "Ethiopia" under King Ezana's reign, sometime in the 4th century AD. Beginning in 1855, the multi-ethnic Orthodox Christian, Amharic-speaking, ruling elite used Ethiopianism to pursue an assimilation policy and consolidate power. Moreover, the notion of Ethiopian integrity was reinforced by Battle of Adwa, the most important unifying event where Ethiopia defied European colonization by defeating Italy on 2 March 1896.
Impact The Second Italo-Ethiopian War and subsequent Italian occupation of Ethiopia was a collective crisis that people of all ethnic groups in Ethiopia experienced. The Italians practiced a divide-and-rule policy, creating ethnic-regional states and a new Shoan region, from where they administered the country for 5 years. The Italians faced fierce resistance during the entirety of that period, and only partial international recognition. Emperor Haile Selassie never signed a peace treaty recognizing Italian domination. After their defeat in 1941, a period of crisis and revolts followed the emperor's restoration to power. Some of these conflicts would that leads to ethnic factions, and later a more intellectual expressed by a student movement. Following the abolition of monarchy and by a military junta Derg in 1974, Ethiopia underwent several conflicts and civil wars, some of which persist to this day. The 28 May 1991 downfall of the Derg by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), and its ethnic nationalist policies, let to the creation of large new regional subdivisions based on language and ethnicity. This was necessary for the TPLF to convince the other liberation fronts (OLF, WSLF, ALF, & ONLF) to stay in Ethiopia- instead of all breaking away as Eritrea did (the EPLF was the only front with the military power to do so unilaterally). Despite this compromise saving the now-landlocked Ethiopian polity from disintegration, it has been a force that continues to thwart Ethiopian unity.
History The origin of the concept of an Ethiopian nation formed by Ethiopian nationalists began with the Aksumite Kingdom in the 4th century A.D. The Aksum was a predominantly Christian state that at the height of its power controlled the northern Ethiopian Highlands, Eritrea, and the coastal regions of Southern Arabia. The Aksumite Kingdom was responsible for the development of the religious movement that became the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church. However, the expansion of Islam in the 7th century caused Aksumite Kingdom to decline. Most of the lowland populations converted to Islam, while the highland people remained Christian. Since the Aksumite people were divided between the Christian highlanders and Islamic lowlanders, religious and tribal tensions and rivalries between the people intensified. The Aksumite society morphed into a loose confederation of city-states that maintained the language of Aksum.
The establishment of modern Ethiopia was mainly led by Amhara emperors Tewodros II of Gondar and Menelik II of Shewa. Tewodros governed from 1855 to 1868 and was followed by Yohannes IV, who was from Tigray and was emperor from 1869 to 1889. He managed to expand his authority into Eritrea. Yohannes was followed by Menelik, who governed from 1889 to 1913 and repelled the Italian invasion of 1896.
Ethiopia, unlike the rest of Africa, had never been colonized in the Scramble for Africa. The country was accepted as the first independent African-governed state at the League of Nations in 1922. Ethiopia was occupied by Italy after the Second Italo-Ethiopian War but was liberated by the Allies during World War II.