Ethiopia’s Three Decades of Ethnic Federalism

Domestically, Ethiopians were weary after nearly two decades of dictatorship and conflict. Citizens yearned for peace.

From this melting pot emerged Ethiopia’s great experiment: ethnic federalism. Enshrined in the 1995 constitution, the model institutionalized ethnicity as an organizing principle in the creation of a state.

The constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) does not simply endorse federalism. It creates an ethno-territorial federation in which sovereignty does not rest on a single Ethiopian people, but on “the nations, nationalities and peoples of Ethiopia”.

Three decades later, its consequences are far from stabilizing.

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Unity in Shards: Ethiopia’s Three Decades of Ethnic Federalism – Ethiopia Insight