The Dynamics of Amhara Nationalism in Ethiopia and its Political and Institutional Implications
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Date
2023-02
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
No other identity has been as debated as Amhara ethnicity in post-1991 Ethiopia. This dissertation
examined “Amhara” both as a supra-ethnic category and an ethnic identity, which is relevant in
contemporary political and scholarly discourse of ethnicity and nationalism in Ethiopia. Ethnicity,
conflict, and institutional design in Ethiopia have been discussed mostly in connection with minority
groups. This kind of general classification may be rejected by “dominant” groups who do not perceive
themselves as based on ethnicity. As a result, little is known about Amhara identity in relation to
Ethiopian nation-building practices. This concern is more crucial in the current context as the Amhara,
who used to closely associate themselves with Ethiopian statehood since imperial times, are now
developing an ethnic sentiment claiming a perceived and real marginalization within the post-1991
political system. The study’s key questions were: (1) how has the post-1991 political discourse and its
institutions contributed to the development of Amhara ethnicity? And (2) how will the rise of Amhara
nationalism affect the functioning of the political system work in progress? Data was acquired through
interviews, focus groups, document review and netnography, as well as observations using a qualitative
research methodology. Data were gathered from a wide range of sources, including broadcast and social
media platforms, political party leaders, activists, and academic elites, leaders (members) of formal and
informal associations and organizations, and viewpoints voiced by these groups. The results indicate that
the in-group and out-group conceptions pertaining to Amhara identity are different. Amhara identity is
defined from the outside and contested from inside. This study also revealed the different discourse
behind the debate on the (non) existence of Amhara as an ethnic group. Proponents of the idea that
Amhara does not exist as an ethnicity espouse an Ethiopian nationalism promoted as a supra-ethnic
identity that all ethnic groups need to integrate into.It also showed how Amhara ethnicity has been built
under various political contexts in which it goes from rejection to embracement. The study also identified
the discursive narratives, ideological underpinnings of othering, and institutional flaws as the cause for
the rise of Amhara nationalism. This is the result of the fact that a nation-state system and its centralized
structures are replaced by a non-representative, fragile devolved system. The Amhara, who remained left
out during the institutionalization of the current political system, now demand to be integrated into it.
This would be an entry point to the evolution of constitutional and institutional designs that redress the
limits of existing multi-national federalism in general and ethnic-territorial autonomy in particular, which
further replicates the strain on the management of conflicts caused by the existing system.