The Political and Institutional Determinants of the Development of Amhara Nationalism in Ethiopia

Abstract

This article engages with the discursive narratives, ideological othering,
and institutional flaws that reinforce the development of Amhara
nationalism. The findings show how Ethiopia’s ethnolinguistic-based
federal arrangement, founded on a political discourse about national
oppression, leads to Amhara nationalism. The article examines the
political and institutional determinants of Amhara identity formation
and mobilisation in post-1991 Ethiopia. Using a qualitative research
methodology, it gathers data from sources such as documents, broadcast
and social media, and key informant interviews to argue that the origins
of the Amhara’s sense of victimisation lie in good part in the replacement
of centralised one-nation nationalism with a non-representative devolved
system; having been left out during the institutionalisation of the current
political system, the Amhara now demand to be integrated into that
system. This could be an entry-point to the development of constitutional
and institutional designs that address the limitations of the multinational
federal system and its propensity for conflict.