EPRDF’s Nation-Building: Tinkering with convictions and pragmatism

The Ethio-Eritrean war (1998-2000) is often considered a turning point in the nationalist discourse of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and the main cause of the reactivation of a strong Pan-Ethiopian nationalism (here taken as synonymous with Ethiopianness), after the i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Cadernos de estudos africanos 2014-06, Vol.27 (27), p.103-126
Main Author: Bach, Jean-Nicolas
Format: Article
Language:eng ; por
Subjects:
AREA STUDIES
Ethiopia
Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF)
Ethiopianness
Humanities and Social Sciences
Nationalism
opposition
Political activism
Political parties
Political science
Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF)
War
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Summary:The Ethio-Eritrean war (1998-2000) is often considered a turning point in the nationalist discourse of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and the main cause of the reactivation of a strong Pan-Ethiopian nationalism (here taken as synonymous with Ethiopianness), after the introduction of “ethnic federalism” in 1995. This paper argues that Pan-Ethiopian and “ethnic” nationalism coexisted in TPLF-EPRDF’s nationalism before the 1998-2000 war. As a political and pragmatic tool to grasp and keep power, the “multifaceted” nationalism of the EPRDF was adapted and adjusted to new circumstances. This explains the ease with which Pan-Ethiopianism was reactivated and reinvented from 1998 onwards. In this process, the 2005 general elections and the rise of opposition groups defending a Pan-Ethiopian nationalism also represented an important influence in EPRDF’s nationalist adjustment.
ISSN:1645-3794
2182-7400
DOI:10.4000/cea.1501