Ethiopian Political Developments Since World War II

 A Reuters Special Report published on 21 December 2021 is an account titled "A Fractured Giant: Ethiopia's Struggle to Build a Nation" by Matthew Green.

This is a review of political developments in Ethiopia since World War II, supplemented with photographs during the different periods.

Famine in Ethiopia: 1983-1985

 The Association for Diplomatic Studies & Training recently posted an oral history piece titled "Strong-arming Other Donors: Part of USAID's Response to Famine in Ethiopia." 

This is an interview with former USAID Administrator Peter McPherson on the horrific Ethiopian famine in 1983-85.  

Ethiopia's Tigray Crisis: What Do You Call It?

 The BBC published on 28 May 2021 a commentary titled "Ethiopia Tigray Crisis: Warnings of Genocide and Famine" by Alex de Waal, Tufts University.

The author reviews the arguments surrounding the use of the term "genocide" in the case of the crisis in Tigray Region and the earlier crisis in Sudan's Darfur region.  He concludes in the case of Tigray that "there's little appetite for considering whether it is genocide, fearing it will inflame emotions that would impede, not facilitate, solutions."

Ethiopia: 1977 Expulsion of Americans from Kagnew Station and Consulate General in Asmara

The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training recently posted an account titled "Leaving with Their Heads Held High--The U.S. Expulsion from Eritrea, 1977." This is an oral history account of the 1977 demand by Ethiopian leader Mengistu Haile Mariam to close within four days the highly classified U.S. communications station known as Kagnew and the U.S. Consulate General in Asmara. It relies on the recollections of Keith Wauchope, who was in charge of the Consulate General at the time. This occurred at the height of the Cold War and a low point in U.S. relations with Ethiopia.

Ethiopia: Operations Sheba and Solomon

The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training in Virginia published on 27 October 2016 an account titled "'How Many People Can You Fit on a 747?' Operations Sheba and Solomon."

This is an oral history account based on the recollections of U.S. diplomats who served at the time in Khartoum, Tel Aviv and Washington on the movement of Falasha Jews from Ethiopia and Sudan to Israel.

Ethiopia: Looking Back on the Overthrow of Emperor Haile Selassie

The Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training at the Foreign Service Institute outside Washington published in October 2016 the oral history accounts of several American diplomats who served at the U.S. embassy in Addis Ababa in the period before and after the overthrow of Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974. The accounts are titled "Anatomy of an Overthrow: Why a Revered African Leader Was Toppled."

Ethiopia-China 40th anniversary of relations

Image: Vice Minister Zheng Wenkai of China with his delegation and staff from UNDP China office at the Africa-China Poverty Reduction and Development Conference (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia 1-2 November 2010). Credit, creative commons licensed on Flickr by United Nations Development Programme.

The Voice of America Horn of Africa service (Amharic, Tigrinya and Afan Oromo) asked me to comment on Nov. 24 on the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Ethiopia and China.

I noted that Emperor Haile Selassie established the relationship 40 years ago with the blessing of the United States, which was itself in the process of improving ties with China.

Ethiopia-China ties experienced a setback after Mengistu Haile Mariam took power in 1974 because Mengistu developed close ties with the Soviet Union at the height of the Sino-Soviet conflict. This led to cooler relations between Ethiopia and China. When the EPRDF replaced the Mengistu government in 1991, there began a significant improvement in Sino-Ethiopian ties that has continued to the present day.

Although the United States and European Union continue to have strong ties with Ethiopia, it could be argued that China has more significant economic links today with Ethiopia than either the United States or European Union.

China has made available significant low interest loans and is the major player in both road construction and developing the telecommunications network. The United States still offers more assistance, however, and all of it is grant aid.

Ethiopia’s exports to China increased from $7 million in 2002 to $81 million in 2008. On the other hand, its imports from China increased from $145 million in 2002 to $1.15 billion in 2008. This enormous Ethiopian trade deficit with China is not sustainable.

When asked what impact China was having on democracy in Ethiopia, I replied that both China and Ethiopia have a different view of democracy than does the United States and West generally. When looked at from the standpoint of the Western view of democracy, China obviously does not encourage Ethiopia to move in that direction.