Prof. Dinka explains history of empire, independence, ethnicities & nations, civil war & more...

When most of us Americans think of Ethiopia, we think of famine, of which Ethiopia is once again in imminent danger. But there is so much more about Ethiopia that distinguishes it from the rest of Africa. For example, Ethiopia was never colonized. In fact, by beating Italian invaders in the late 19th century, Ethiopia became the envy of and inspiration for other African countries. And yes, there is more to this story too. Ethiopia used that prestige and power to, in turn, colonize other African nations that now reside in southern regions of modern Ethiopia. But why do we say nations? Aren't the terms ethnicity, race or tribes a better fit for describing Ethiopia's different peoples? The answer to that is a definite no! Ethiopia defies African standards, once again, by having the "courage", the word that Professor Dinka used, to create a country in which the boundaries of its different states are drawn to reflect the different nations that live within Ethiopia. In essence, Ethiopia is a multinational federal country. But that federal system is now under threat as a civil war with the Tigray region is engulfing other national regions of the country as well as Eritrea, a bordering country that until recently was part of Ethiopia. 

Join me in this podcast conversation with Professor Etana Dinka of James Madison University, who is a historian of Africa and whose research focus is on Ethiopia, including many publications and a book titled Society, Revolution and Military Intervention in Ethiopian Politics. This is the link to Professor Dinka's academic homepage: https://www.jmu.edu/history/people/all-people/dinka-etana.shtml