rw—»SAUDI ,ARABI A iKHARIQUM ASM*!». ,SAN'A •• '"-"n * i |)SU\DAN 7 ,.. „,_A /.•-> , tsaj 7 I . /DJIBOUTI 6l i'íoMhongulV, E T H I OIF l/A Hdun \ eumu /-SS», .,,,:»! ! / ji ƒ J W»-„..± ABABWï0A '• Debrfliejil* ;/», éī'^IW .' V Dagfthüüi/f 7 t * i A r~''' ~ ^•""'""Southnrn Nations,;-'";"'!--'' ,<m Somali / /i . V rWiiionsiltios i"u- Oromlya, 0 S A O S W ^oJiio^ / T / Ellffll I \ 0 \* / INDIAN v. : OCEAN: UGANDA •^f! SMIifJÓÍltti.. BouinjHleK: ., KENYA •«^MíflW6Í;v . ' :-'.'\7 -, ; ;;;;; v<<inriSonis);a 1H Map of Ethiopia (Africa Confidential, 2007, (48), 19) 12 Afrika Focus, Vol. 20, Nr. 1-2, 2007, pp. 13-48 ETHIOPIA: FROM A CENTRALISED MONARCHY TO A FEDERAL REPUBLIC Christophe Van der Beken Ghent University Faculty of Law, Department Public Law Universiteitstraat 4 9000 Gent Belgium e-mail:
[email protected] SUMMARY Ethiopia: From a Centralised Monarchy to a Federal Republic Although the Ethiopian state traces its roots back to the empire of Axum in the first centuries AD, the modern Ethiopian state took shape in the second half of the 19th century. During that period the territory of the Ethiopian empire expanded considerably. Several ethnic groups were incorporated into the empire and the foundations for a strong, centralised state were laid. Centralisation of authority in the hands of the emperor and a strategy of nation building that denied the ethnic diversity of Ethiopian society characterised the rule of Emperor Haile Selassie. At the same time, these elements contributed to its decline. Haile Selassie was ultimately deposed by a military committee in 1974. This announced the end of the Ethiopian monarchy and the 13 transformation of the Ethiopian state, following the Marxist model.