Federalism and Self-Determination: Revisiting Ethiopia's Southern Region Lecture

Presented by The Anglo-Ethiopian Society.  

Federalism and Self-Determination: Revisiting Ethiopia's Southern Region

Sarah Vaughan

Ethiopia’s system of "multinational federalism" was introduced in the early 1990s and in the diverse Southern Region, federalism has had particularly complex effects. The late 90s saw a range of claims for separate recognition of identity within the region (Silte from Gurage, Sheka from Kaffa, Welaiyta from North Omo, and so on) to which the state finally acceded.

In the context of an upswing of political competition around the 2005 elections, a Sidama claim for separation from the region gathered strong momentum. Since the summer of 2018, the Sidama and a series of other groups have again raised calls for the establishment of separate federated states under the federation.

Sarah Vaughan is an Honorary Fellow in Politics at Edinburgh University and has researched and written on issues in Ethiopian political history for a range of government, multilateral and voluntary bodies. She is a co-author of The Culture of Power in Contemporary Ethiopian Political Life.

Doors will open at 6:00 pm with complimentary tea, coffee and biscuits available.