L'espace politique éthiopien

Ethiopian Political Space Two institutions symbolized the Ethiopian state and guarantee its perpetuity until the 20th century : the Crown of the Salomonians and the orthodox Monophysite Church. The Prince, emulating Constantine, extended his domain under the banner of the Christ. And in the tumultuous wake of his armies, the clergy bore the sacred message, preaching, converting, building. Eventually, the empire would be that archipelago of parishes and monasteries placed under the protection of the Christian Prince. But it is not yet a nation state. To conquer was a duty but that logic of expansion has its reverse side. The Church had not at first the means to accomplish its mission, to convert and to civilize. The Empire also had to reckon with another force. Islam in the 20th century laid claim to as many followers as Christianity and with them numerous populations which although politically subject remained culturally unconquerable : in particular, the Oromo representing a third if not half of the Ethiopian population. At the close of the 19th century expansion came to an end. The Emperor Menelik extended his territory but under colonial pressure accepted the delimitation of this domain within the bounds of internationaly recognized frontiers : a phenomenon without precedent on the African continent. The international recognition of the Ethiopian frontiers thus completed the imperial mission but in no way leads to the unification of the people. Ethiopia remains divided into "one hundred nations" and it was necessary to await 1985 for the project of a federation of the Republics of Ethiopia, as in the Soviet Union after the October Revolution.Bureau Jacques. L'espace politique éthiopien. In: Annales. Économies, Sociétés, Civilisations. 40ᵉ année, N. 6, 1985. pp. 1379-1393