| dc.description.abstract | Ethiopia has experienced recurrent ethnic conflicts, especially during the last three decades, since the introduction of a governance structure of ethnic federalism in 1991. Attempts to bring political stability to the country have not been successful, as competing political cultures constantly struggle for hegemony. Political constituencies have fragmented, based on sub-national political cultures. This study considers the influence of Amhara, Oromo, and Tigrayan political cultures in Ethiopia and their contribution to the recurrent ethnic-based conflicts in the country. This study contributes to our understanding of Gabriel Almond and Sydney Verba’s concept of political culture in that it confirms the existence of “a particular pattern of orientations” that do not radically change over time. The political cultures of the Amhara, Oromo, and Tigrayan elites consistently showed, during the study period, beliefs and aspirations that included competition for hegemonic power, the absence of political negotiations, and exercising political violence either to maintain the status quo or to unseat the status quo. The study further confirms Frantz Fanon’s conceptualization of political violence over that of Hannah Arendt. The political violence exhibited by the Amhara, Oromo, and Tigrayan elites has two dimensions: for the ethnic group dominating government, political violence is used to maintain the status quo, whereas other ethnic groups that aspire to hegemonic power adopt Fanon’s justification of political violence to change the status quo. As a result, there is constant political violence in Ethiopia. The political history of Ethiopia has shown struggles for dominance between the Amhara, Oromo, and Tigrayan elites, and they continue to dominate current political cultures. University graduates represent the elite, who guide the formation of cultural values. The main research question driving this study is, "What are the dominant views and approaches that have influenced Amhara, Oromo, and Tigrayan political cultures in Ethiopia from 1991 to 2017?” A comparative case study drew on multiple sources of data to answer the question. These included a survey and data from university graduates from each ethnic group, interviews with professors from each ethnic group, and documentary evidence including legislation as well as media reports of inter-ethnic conflicts. | en_US |
