Ethiopia: An Overview

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August 19, 2014

Ethiopia: An Overview

Ethiopia is Africa’s second most populous country and

its oldest independent state. The United States considers

the Ethiopian government to be an important development

and regional security partner, but also a source of concern

regarding human rights and democracy. Good relations with

the United States are rooted in cooperation on efforts to

counter terrorism and respond to instability in the volatile

Horn of Africa region, and on shared efforts to alleviate

Ethiopia’s endemic poverty. The country has been plagued

by frequent drought and chronic food insecurity and is one

of the largest recipients of U.S. foreign aid, primarily in the

form of health, food, and humanitarian assistance.

Ethiopia plays a key leadership role in the region and on

the continent. It hosts the African Union (AU) and

contributes significant numbers of troops to U.N.

peacekeeping operations. Ethiopian peacekeepers play a

critical role along the volatile Sudan-South Sudan border

and in the U.N. Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).

Ethiopia, which currently leads the East Africa regional

body known as the Intergovernmental Authority on

Development (IGAD), hosts various peace negotiations,

including the ongoing dialogue between the governments of

Sudan and South Sudan and talks between Sudan and its

armed opposition. Ethiopia is the lead mediator between the

opposing sides of South Sudan’s civil war. Ethiopian forces

also play a major role in efforts to counter the Al Qaedalinked terrorist group Al Shabaab in Somalia.

Background

Ethiopia is one of only two African countries to have

avoided colonial rule, and the diplomatic relationship

between the United States and Ethiopia dates back more

than one hundred years. In the past century, Ethiopia’s

politics have been largely dominated by three leaders.

Emperor Haile Selassie ruled from 1930 to 1974, when he

was deposed by a socialist military junta known as the

Derg. The Derg was accused of massive human rights

abuses (dubbed the “Red Terror”), and of ignoring a famine

that caused hundreds of thousands of deaths. An army

officer, Mengistu Haile Mariam, became head of state at the

helm of the Derg in 1977. In 1989, several ethnically-based

opposition groups merged to form the Ethiopian Peoples’

Revolutionary Front (EPRDF), and in 1991 they overthrew

the Derg and Mengistu, who fled to Zimbabwe, where he

remains in exile. The EPRDF allowed Eritreans to vote on

secession, a key demand of the Eritrean faction of the antiDerg struggle, leading to Eritrean independence in 1993.

EPRDF leader Meles Zenawi served as President of

Ethiopia and then as Prime Minister from 1991 until his

death in 2012. He was considered a powerful figure in

Ethiopian and regional politics. Meles was widely credited

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with spearheading the economic reforms that have made

Ethiopia one of Africa’s fastest growing economies, despite

its relative lack of natural resources. However, as leader of

both the EPRDF, an alliance of four ethno-regional parties,

and one of its components, the Tigrayan Peoples’

Liberation Front (TPLF), he also was accused by critics of

stifling dissent and securing the continued dominance of his

minority Tigrayan ethnic group in the government.

Current Political Issues

Hailemariam Desalegn (deh-sah-LEEN) became Prime

Minister in 2012, after Meles’ death. As a Protestant, he

is Ethiopia’s first non-Ethiopian-Orthodox head of state,

and is from one of the country’s smaller ethnic groups, the

Wolayta. Hailemariam was also elected chairman of the

EPRDF coalition. In October 2013, the EPRDF-dominated

parliament elected Mulatu Teshome Wirtu as President, a

largely ceremonial post.

Despite regular elections, Ethiopia’s tradition of

authoritarian rule continues to impede participatory

democracy. The EPRDF has dominated successive

elections since 1995. Elections in 2005—in which the

opposition had been expected to make significant gains—

were marred by violence, as the government responded to

post-election protests by detaining thousands of opposition

members, journalists, and civic activists. An estimated 200

people were reportedly killed by security forces during the

protests, and top opposition leaders were put on trial. The

disputed elections led to a broader tightening of democratic

space as the EPRDF reconsolidated control. Opposition

parties boycotted local and by-elections held in 2008. The

most recent elections, held in 2010, were generally peaceful

but the electoral environment did not meet international

standards of fairness, according to U.S. and European

election monitoring groups and governments.

Critics contend that the EPRDF has stifled dissent

through laws and electoral regulations that give the

coalition a significant advantage. Two laws enacted in

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Ethiopia: An Overview

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2009 have heightened international concern about the

government’s intentions with respect to democracy. The

“Charities and Societies Proclamation” created stringent

reporting requirements and government oversight for civil

society organizations, including by limiting foreign funding

and prohibiting anonymous donations. Another law, the

“Anti-Terrorism Proclamation,” has been criticized for its

expansive definition of terrorism, harsh penalties, flexible

rules for evidence, and the broad legal authority it grants to

police and security forces. Opposition leaders, activists, and

journalists have been imprisoned on national security

charges, amid concerns of torture and ill-treatment in

Ethiopian detention facilities.

There has been a growing current of anti-government

protests by Ethiopian Muslims, who make up about a

third of the population, in response to perceived

government interference in Muslim religious affairs in

recent years. The government has responded by detaining

protestors and charging some under the anti-terrorism law.

Security Concerns

Instability in neighboring Somalia has contributed to

Ethiopia’s security concerns, and Ethiopia has

repeatedly intervened there militarily. Ethiopian troops

deployed to Somalia in 2006 to oust a network of Islamist

court militias that had seized control of Mogadishu. This

led to a prolonged military engagement against one of the

militias, Al Shabaab, and other insurgents. Ethiopian forces

officially pulled out in early 2009 after the U.N.-mandated

African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) was

established, but periodic Ethiopian military incursions

continued, and Ethiopia has reportedly provided support to

Somali armed factions. Ethiopia joined AMISOM in

January 2014.

Aside from Somalia, the Ethiopian government’s main

strategic concern is its antagonistic relationship with

Eritrea, which seceded from Ethiopia in 1993. The two

countries fought a border war in the late 1990s, and parts of

the border remain in dispute. Both governments have

accused one another of backing rebels in their respective

countries. Ethiopia also faces several simmering

domestic insurgencies, including in the Ogaden area near

the Somali border, which has a significant population of

ethnic Somalis. The security forces have been accused of

committing serious human rights abuses in the context of

their counterinsurgency efforts in the region.

The Economy

Ethiopia’s economy has grown on average over 10% per

year in the past decade, almost double the regional

average. Yet its per capita income remains among the

world’s lowest and its population suffers from severe

cyclical droughts. The government faces an array of

structural challenges, including a growing “youth bulge”

and high unemployment. Ethiopia’s development

indicators—which include high rates of birth and infant

mortality, low literacy levels, and a short life expectancy—

are poor, although improving.

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The economy is predominately driven by agriculture,

which composes almost half of GDP and 85% of total

employment. Coffee is the largest export. The government

has sought to transform the economy by engaging in several

controversial projects to lease large swaths of agricultural

land to foreign investors and create new infrastructure for

electricity production. The government argues that the land

leases bring in critical foreign investment and large-scale

agricultural production that will spur economic growth and

improve living standards. However, such leases have also

resulted in the displacement of Ethiopian farmers and their

families. Officially, the relocations are under a separate,

nominally voluntary program known as “villagization,”

through which the state seeks to better serve the health,

education, and infrastructure needs of rural populations by

grouping them close together. Human rights groups contend

that the displacements are forced and are driven by the

commercial value of the land.

Concerns have also been raised about forced relocations

and potential negative environmental impacts related to

hydroelectric projects, notably the Gibe III and the Grand

Ethiopian Renaissance dams. The latter, expected to be

completed in 2017, would be Africa’s largest power project

and, the Ethiopian government argues, will enable Ethiopia

to sell excess electricity to its neighbors, strengthening

regional development. The dam has been a source of

contention with Egypt, which argues that the dam could

divert a critical water supply on which Egypt relies.

U.S. Policy and Foreign Assistance

Given regional volatility, Ethiopia’s size, and its

susceptibility to food insecurity, the United States has

identified Ethiopia’s stability and prosperity as key

priorities for U.S. engagement. According to the State

Department, the three pillars of the bilateral relationship are

economic growth and development; democracy, governance

and human rights; and regional peace and security.

However, little U.S. aid is provided for democracy

promotion, and U.S. concerns about Ethiopian restrictions

on political and human rights complicate diplomatic

engagement and security cooperation. Congress, while

appropriating funding for Ethiopia’s sizable aid package,

which is one of the largest in Africa, has conditioned some

security assistance based on such concerns.

Bilateral aid, most of it directed to development, global

health, and food aid programs, totaled almost $620

million in FY2013. Food aid alone in FY2014 has totaled

almost $173 million to date. The State Department’s

request for $482 million for FY2015 does not include food

aid, which is allocated during the year according to need.

The Obama Administration’s Feed the Future initiative

supports Ethiopia’s food security strategy to reduce hunger,

improve nutrition, and promote broad-based economic

growth. Ethiopia is also a participant in U.S. regional

programs to counter terrorism and promote African

peacekeeping deployments.

Lauren Ploch Blanchard, lploch@crs.loc.gov, 7-7640

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