Despite having been equated with the ancient Abyssinian cultures of Amhara and Tigray for centuries, there are at least 80 different ethnic groups within Ethiopia. Until recently, there has been little understanding of their cultures and traditions. Ethiopia has traditionally been governed from the centre – one of the reasons for the growth of Eritrean nationalist movements, which led to the eventual independence of Eritrea. This centralization and oppression of different ethnic groups led to the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) coming to power in 1991, and promising that Ethiopia’s peoples would no longer live under a centralized system, which oppressed the majority of the population. The new government went on to restructure the State, forming an ethnic federation with regional ethnically-based states and creating a most radical and progressive Constitution. The Constitution guarantees ethnic groups a wide range of rights – including secession from the ethnic federation. Yet the government is beset by claims from opposition parties and national and international human rights organizations that it is guilty of widespread violations of human rights. Furthermore, many ordinary Ethiopians are sceptical of the government’s agenda, questioning its commitment to promoting the rights of all ethnic groups. MRG’s Report Ethiopia: A New Start? analyzes the Constitution, which the government has fashioned in order to create confidence among ethnic groups and minorities in Ethiopia. The Report discusses the Constitution’s key points and focuses on implementation within the federation, assessing the claims of the government’s detractors. The report’s author, Kjetil Tronvoll, gives a balanced historical background to these issues and covers some of the principal areas for Ethiopia’s social, economic and political development. The Report concludes with a series of recommendations aimed at the Ethiopian government and the international community. Please note that the terminology in the fields of minority rights and indigenous peoples’ rights has changed over time. MRG strives to reflect these changes as well as respect the right to self-identification on the part of minorities and indigenous peoples. At the same time, after over 50 years’ work, we know that our archive is of considerable interest to activists and researchers. Therefore, we make available as much of our back catalogue as possible, while being aware that the language used may not reflect current thinking on these issues.

This book examines the impact of the federal restructuring of Ethiopia on ethnic conflicts. The adoption of ethnic federalism in Ethiopia was closely related with the problem of creating a state structure that could be used as instrument of managing the complex ethno-linguistic diversity of the country. Ethiopia is a multinational country with about 85 ethno-linguistic groups and since the 1960s, it suffered from ethno-regional conflicts. The book considers multiple governance and state factors that could explain the difficulties Ethiopian federalism faces to realise its objectives. These include lack of political pluralism and the use of ethnicity as the sole instrument of state organisation. Federalism and Ethnic Conflict in Ethiopia will be of interest to students and scholars of federal studies, ethnic conflict and regionalism.

These essays support the argument that strong and effective presidential leadership is the most important prerequisite for South Korea to sustain and project its influence abroad. That leadership should be attentive to the need for public consensus and should operate within established legislative mechanisms that ensure public accountability. The underlying structures sustaining South Korea’s foreign policy formation are generally sound; the bigger challenge is to manage domestic politics in ways that promote public confidence about the direction and accountability of presidential leadership in foreign policy.

A compilation of favorite folktales exhibiting wisdom and experience

Ethiopia s unique system of ethnic-based federalism claims to minimise conflict by organising political power along ethnic lines. This empirical study shows that the system eases conflict at some levels but also sharpens inter-ethnic and intra-ethnic divides on the ground.

... what people are saying about this book ...'A marvelous recounting of Ethiopian and world history during those years. Mandatory reading for anyone interested in Third World relations and certainly for anyone who seeks to understand contemporary Ethiopian or Horn of Africa affairs.'?Foreign Service Journal?A significant primary source in its first hand account by a meticulously observant insider.'?Foreign Affairs?Commands attention and respect. John Spencer's personal, candid, and basically reliable record will have an honored place in the contemporary annals of that tortured country.'?Times Literary Supplement?Spencer is one of the very few living people in a position to describe Ethiopia's efforts to survive during those years.'?Library Journal?Spencer was privy to many important decisions. Of particular interest is his account of Haile Sellassie's disenchantment with the U.S.'?Publisher's Weekly?After the hard fate which befell the Emperor and his notables, Spencer is maybe the only one of the old regime's key persons still alive. There is hardly a single page one would want to miss.'?Sture Linner in Svenska Dagbladet?I found Ethiopia at Bay intensely interesting, sad and even tragic in the Greek mode. What a series of missed opportunities, anachronistic colonial arrogances, and western shortsightedness! The book would be enormously instructive to students of international relations generally.'?Lincoln Gordon, former President, Johns Hopkins University?Valuable indeed, Especially significant is Spencer's cogent analysis of the Emperor himself. Recommended for college, university, and larger public libraries.'?Choice.