Effects of ethnicity and nationality on conflict and peace: The case of Ethiopia and Eritrea

Following the establishment of the Federation of Ethiopia and Eritrea in 1952, Eritrea enjoyed a degree of autonomy. Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie followed a strict and suppressing policy over Eritrea and finally dissolved the federation, and annexed Eritrea. This resulted with armed resistance of Eritreans seeking independence over three decades. During this period, nationalist and ethnic sentiments had fundamental role. Efforts to dominate and assimilate Eritrea nurtured the Eritrean identity which went beyond ethnic boundaries. After Eritrea's independence in 1993, the border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea between 1998 and 2000 set another cornerstone in ethnically influenced developments in the region. Also, the ethnic federalist approach that was used to address the ethnic fault lines in Ethiopia, along with the dominance of TPLF in Ethiopian politics and other important fields, caused discontent and rivalries between the ethnic groups in the country which led nationwide protests and clashes from 2015 to 2018, resulting change in the government and the ruling elite. The new Ethiopian government led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed took liberalist steps to calm the situation while trying to sideline the TPLF dominance. Nationalism and ethnic driven politics shaped the Ethiopian domestic affairs and its relations with Eritrea the way forward. This thesis claims that the power dynamics and interests of the ruling elites, as well as constructed identities are integral part of the ethnicity and nationalism discourse and developments in Ethiopia and Eritrea since 1962. These ethnic conflicts and peace processes were explained by the instrumentalist and constructivist theory through ethnicity in Ethiopia, along with Eritrean identity and nationalism.