A Comparative Analysis of Ethiopia’s Multilateral Diplomacy in the Pre- and Post-Brics Admission Periods: Challenges and Opportunities
No Thumbnail Available
Date
2024-06-01
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Addis ababa university
Abstract
Today’s multilateralism is in a deep crisis attributed largely to the lack of readiness on the
part of the established system for reform, the increasing complexity of global challenges, and
the problem of regulatory scale. Thus, answering the question of how the global South
(majority) asserts its interests amid repeated failures to reform global institutions is crucial.
As a country from the global South, Ethiopia has been an ardent supporter of a reinvigorated
multilateralism through thick and thin. Its multilateral diplomacy is also at a historic
juncture as it officially joined BRICS in January 2024. This historic decision has garnered
much attention and become contentious. This study thus sought to appraise the challenges
and opportunities of Ethiopia’s multilateral diplomacy from 2018-2022; to examine the
driving and enabling factors for Ethiopia’s BRICS membership; and to analyze Ethiopia’s
multilateral diplomacy in the post-BRICS admission period vis-à-vis the previous period. The
study employed a qualitative research design. Data was collected from both primary and
secondary sources mainly through interviews, FGD, and document review. The analysis
reveals the following findings. First, Ethiopia’s multilateral diplomacy in the first period was
a mix of key achievements and challenges. In the period from 2018-2020, Ethiopia succeeded
in diplomatic battles. Whereas from 2020-2022, its multilateral diplomacy was ‘challenged’
and preoccupied with mainly the northern conflict. Second, Ethiopia’s foreign policy and
economic calculations, BRICS’ openness to accepting new members, having a similar agenda
with BRICS on global governance, undue external pressures and other reasons drove
Ethiopia to join BRICS. The enabling factors include its rich history of and devotion to
multilateralism, being one of the largest diplomatic hubs, the right representative of Africa in
terms of economy and demography, and robust historical bilateral relations with BRICS
members. Third, comparing Ethiopia’s multilateral diplomacy in the pre- and post-BRICS
admission periods, data reveals that BRICS membership is a natural continuation of its
longstanding foreign policy and its strong devotion to a polycentric global order which
BRICS would be midwifing. Ethiopia's BRICS membership shows its growing 'insertion' into
the international community after a downward spiral during its pre-BRICS membership
years. Ethiopia displayed defensive diplomacy during the first period, but relatively assertive
and offensive diplomacy during the second. Ethiopia’s BRICS membership is not a ‘paradigm
shift’ and does not signify a change in its foreign policy. The findings suggest the need to
conduct further studies to illustrate the impact of Ethiopia’s BRICS membership on its
multilateral diplomacy.
Keywords: BRICS | Multilateralism ,Multilateral Diplomacy Multipolarity, Global
Governance Architecture
Description
Keywords
BRICS | Multilateralism, Multilateral Diplomacy Multipolarity, Global Governance Architecture