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A spectre is haunting Ethiopia. It is the spectre of Amhara nationalism. The Amhara question is reverberating all across the country and among Ethiopians abroad. If the rising influence and popularity of nationalist narratives and the power they unleash have not already made obvious the power of Amhara nationalism, the ‘coup d’état’ against the Amhara regional government on 22 June 2019 certainly should.1 The ‘coup d’état’ involved the assassination of the Amhara regional governor and the chief of staff of the Ethiopian Defense Forces and their aides.

In Ethiopia, ethnic politics is now entering a new era, which involves a massive assessment of an Amhara ethnic identity. People are raising pertinent questions and deliberating if they have a shared history to cherish and an ethnicity of their own. ‘We now call ourselves Amhara, first and foremost; we are mobilizing to reaffirm our Amhara identity and redefine an Amhara horizon’, says Belete Molla, the chairman of the National Movement of Amhara (NaMA).2 Meanwhile, political statements have begun to come forward. These include the unprecedented war of words between the former Amhara Democratic Party (ADP) and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in mid-July 2019.3 The rising tension between the two parties followed the latter’s issuance of a strong statement denouncing the ADP in the wake of the 22 June ‘coup d’état’.

Issue Section:
Briefing
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