By Bereket Gebru
Ever since the advent of states in
human development, the administration of multi-ethnic groups has always been a
hard nut to crack. Although the problem has persisted to this day, the right
formula to strike the balance in the administration of multi-ethnic societies
has still eluded mankind. As a result, the quest for a working module at both
national and international levels is still on.
After the bloody scenes of World War
II that saw millions perish on account of the racist views of the powerful, a
national approach to administration that is based along ethnic lines has
generally been renounced. A paper by Alem Habtu entitled “ethnic federalism in
Ethiopia: background, present conditions and future prospects,” states:
Following World War II and
the start of decolonization, newly independent countries in Africa struggled to
create viable nation-states combining different ethnic groupings within the territorial
boundaries inherited from colonialism. For these countries, modernity entailed
the transformation of disparate ethnic groups into a unitary nation-state with
a common language and citizenship. France was the model nation-state par
excellence. Such a nation-state came to be regarded as a badge of modernity,
while “ethnicism” was associated with backwardness and repudiated by
modernizing elites. Many African countries followed the nation-state model and attempted
to create a unified nation out of disparate peoples.
The
paper goes on to explain that the belief that ethnic identity should be denied
public expression in political institutions has been conventional wisdom in the
continent ever since decolonization. As a result, it asserts, the 1960s witnessed
the rise of state nationalism in Africa and state nationalists attempted to
undermine ethnic nationalism, which they saw as an obstacle to modern state
formation.
The author identifies that replacing ethnic identity that had been held high by
the people with national identity became the major challenge for African
nations.
The
importance people attach to ethnic identity has, however, not been extinguished
in the continent over the years as numerous liberation movements and conflicts
between various ethnic groups were recorded in the meantime. The nation state
model has repeatedly been exposed as insufficient in administering multi-ethnic
societies as demonstrated in Rwanda, Sudan, Nigeria, Morocco and Ethiopia to
name a few.
In
the case of Ethiopia, as indicated in various history books, state formation
was a long process of empire expansion that annexed neighboring societies into
it. The paper by Alem Habtu argues that three forms of ethnic social
engineering have been attempted in Ethiopia over the 20th century.
The
first social engineering, it contends, was designed by Emperor Menelik
(1889-1913) but significantly elaborated by Emperor Haile Selassie (1930-36,
1941-74). The author argues that it attempted to create a unitary state on the basis
of cultural assimilation, using Amharic as the sole language of instruction and
public discourse and Abyssinian Orthodox Christian culture as the core culture
of Ethiopian national identity. It goes on to say that cultural and structural
inequalities typified imperial rule, with ethnic and regional discontent rising
until the revolution of 1974 overthrew the monarchy. The paper asserts that the
policy of assimilation into mainstream Amhara culture provoked some
subordinated ethnic groups into initiating ethnic movements in various regions
of the empire-state.
The
second ethnic social engineering (1974-91), it contends, was the military
government’s attempt to retain a unitary state and address the "national
question" within the framework of Marxism-Leninism. To address the latter,
the paper explains, it set up the Institute for the Study of Nationalities in
1983. Based on the Institute's recommendations, it goes on to say, the military
regime created twenty-four administrative regions and five autonomous regions
within the unitary form of state, but no devolution of authority was
discernible. According to the paper, the regime initiated a mass National
Literacy Campaign in 15 Ethiopian languages in 1979. At the same time as it was
making these and related efforts (e.g., in legitimating ethnic folk music and
dance) in the direction of cultural pluralism, analyzes the paper, the regime
waged a military campaign against ethno-nationalist armed groups. In the last
decade of its rule, ethnic based opposition organizations had intensified their
assault on the military government and ethnic nationalism became a major factor
in the demise of the centralizing military regime.
After
the failure of the two attempts in 1974 and 1991, the third ethnic social
engineering (1991-present) by the EPRDF government to maintain the Ethiopian
state on the basis of ethnic federalism as well as cultural, language and
political autonomy at regional and sub-regional levels has been underway.
The
paper argues that the ideological antecedents of EPRDF’s ethnic federalism
project can be traced to Marxist-Leninist ideology and its conception of “the
national question.” The Ethiopian Student Movement (ESM) at home and abroad had
introduced Marxism-Leninism to Ethiopia in the mid-1960s. The paper notes that "the
national question" had soon after emerged as the burning question. While
explaining the historical adoption of the doctrine, the paper states:
The ESM was initially
divided on the “correct” resolution of the national question. In the end, the
ESM attempted to legitimate ethno-nationalism within the ideological compass of
Marxism-Leninism, marking a radical departure from the inherited
pan-Ethiopianist ideology … The ESM saw its resolution within the framework of
the Marxist-Leninist doctrine of "the right of nations to
self-determination, up to and including secession." By 1971, the ESM
worldwide adopted this doctrine. When the ESM gave birth to Marxist-Leninist
political parties, notably Mela Ityopia Socialist Niqinaqe (MEISON) in 1968 and
Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Party (EPRP) in 1975, it also bequeathed them
this doctrine. When the military junta adopted the Marxist-Leninist orientation
of the ESM, it conspicuously rejected "the right of secession"
doctrine … When EPRDF assumed power in 1991, this doctrine became the basis for
constructing a new federal state structure.
The
current federal state structure recognizes the importance of ethnic identity
and provides people with the chance to administer themselves while maintaining
national unity through their willful consent. It gives ethnic groups the room
to grow their culture and retain the respect they deserve in their relations
with their fellow citizens. It also provides them with the opportunity to use
their own languages in education.
Along
with these rights granted to ethnic groups comes the responsibility to form an
economic and political society. The economic integration of the nine states
carved out along linguistic and ethnic lines has grown tremendously over the
past couple of decades as the country has experienced an unprecedented level of
economic growth and development. The relief from the state imposed measures to
keep ethnic identity on the down low has also created a conducive environment
for social groups to create a stronger political unity.
Considering
the fact that the two previous attempts at social engineering by former regimes
failed, the option of ethnic federalism that gives due attention to both ethnic
identity and national unity is a viable alternative to administering
multi-ethnic societies.
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