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Ethiopia Political Dynamics
Modern Ethiopian political history has been shaped and
dominated by intense conflict. As the revolution unfolded in
1973 and 1974, the political environment appeared to
liberalize, and political discourse became more open than at
any other time in Ethiopian history. This was particularly
true in urban centers, such as the capital city of Addis
Ababa. In the rural areas, groups incorporated into Ethiopia
in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, such as the
Oromo, Afar, Somali, and Eritreans, began to step up their
demands for self-determination. Several of these groups
questioned the very legitimacy of the Ethiopian state. The
Derg was in essence being challenged to devise a survival
strategy that would enhance its control over government and
politics and create a basis for popular legitimacy. Various
reorganizational and institution-building policies, such as
the establishment of the Program for the National Democratic
Revolution (PNDR), the creation of the WPE, and the
promulgation of the 1987 constitution, were all designed to
achieve these ends.
Data as of 1991
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