The Politics of Representation: Menelik II and Aanoole Statues in Focus
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Date
2015-10
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The overriding purpose of this study was to examine the political representation of Menelik \I
and Aanoole statues. The study critica lly sees how both statues serve as a site for both
reproduction and re-articulation of hi storica l relations of power in the Ethiopi an polity. Theo ri es
of representation and Foucaultian conceptual ization of Power, Know/edge and Trulh has been
employed as the basic theoretical framewo rks for the study. The stud y employed textual analys is,
document analys is and in-depth interv iew as too ls to generate data. Employing document and
textual ana lys is, the study focu sed on five (5) nongovernment magazines (Addis Gliday, LOllli,
Inqll, and Jano), and two documents from Orom ia Cu lture and Tourism Bureau and Addis
Ababa City Governance were selected and ana lyzed qualitatively. Besides, in-depth interview
was employed with seven (7) parti cipants from academic and political spheres to triangu late the
textual analysis.
The result of the study reveals that there is historiographical co ntradiction, architectural
contention and political contestation over the representation of both statues in the Ethiopian
polity. With this view, the normative hi storical narrati ves about Menelik II statue were
deconstructed by the newly built Aanoole statue. The design of Aanoole statue was also seen as
an eerily remini scent of other statues erected in the co untry and has lack of aesthetic quali ty.
Moreover, the study revealed three dominant and competing perspecti ves: Ethiopiani st (extreme
pan-Ethiopiani st), correct ionist (extreme ethno-nationali st), and government 's (EPRDF) views
over the representations of both statues as the process of politica l power struggle in Ethiopia.
Stating all the representation of both statues and the ir implications with respect to pol itical power
struggle ill Ethiop ia, the study makes suggestions as to how the competing and contradictory
narrati ves about Aanoole and Menelik II stat ues could be reconciled and why and how statues as
a cOl11memorati ve text might be constructed in Ethiopia in a way that might reduce the tensions
over the ir represen tations.
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Keywords
Politics Representation Menelik, Aanoole Statues in Focus