Ethnicity as a Hindrance for Understanding Ethiopian History: An Argument Against an Ethnic Late Nineteenth Century

Despite its present ethnic federalism, Ethiopian history has been marked by provincial or cultural identities, which twentieth century notions of identity have obscured. This essay gives three major reasons why ethnicity is not an effective lens to understand Ethiopia’s complex history. One, there i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:History in Africa 2017-06, Vol.44, p.101-131
Main Author: Yates, Brian J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
19th century
20th century
21st century
Accentuation
African history
African studies
Attention
Critical Historiography
Cultural identity
Ethnic identity
Ethnicity
Federalism
Historiography
Ideology
Multiculturalism & pluralism
Politics
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Summary:Despite its present ethnic federalism, Ethiopian history has been marked by provincial or cultural identities, which twentieth century notions of identity have obscured. This essay gives three major reasons why ethnicity is not an effective lens to understand Ethiopia’s complex history. One, there is no agreement among either popular and academic writers on what ethnic identities in Ethiopia represents, either currently or historically. Two, a focus on ethnicity obscures the rationale behind the actions of the state and key actors during the nineteenth century. Three, an ethnic lens brings much needed scholarly attention away from key moments in the nineteenth century. En dépit de son fédéralisme ethnique actuel, l’histoire éthiopienne a été marquée par des identités provinciales ou culturelles rendues inintelligibles par les notions d’identité du XXe siècle. Cet article donne trois raisons principales pour lesquelles le concept d’ethnicité n’est pas un prisme efficace pour comprendre l’histoire complexe de l’Éthiopie. Premièrement, les auteurs populaires et universitaires ne sont pas d’accord sur ce que représentent les identités ethniques en Éthiopie que ce soit actuellement ou dans le passé. Deuxièmement, l’accent mis sur l’appartenance ethnique amoindrit le rôle joué par l’État ou des personnages-clefs au cours du XIXe siècle. Troisièmement, une lecture ethnique détourne l’attention des chercheurs des moments-clefs du XIXe siècle.
ISSN:0361-5413
1558-2744
DOI:10.1017/hia.2016.13