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Ethiopia & Socialist Theory


Ken Tarbuck

Ethiopia and Socialist Theory


IV: The Rise and Fall of Mengistu


Review of Andargachew Tiruneh, The Ethiopian Revolution 1974–1987: A Transformation from an Aristocratic to a Totalitarian Autocracy (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1993)


Andargachew Tiruneh is the latest of numerous authors to attempt to come to terms with the Ethiopian revolution of 1974 and the subsequent years of military dictatorship. In one respect he has an advantage that most of the other writers did not have: his book was written and published in the closing years of the reign of Mengistu. Indeed, he was able to add a postscript outlining the immediate events leading to Mengistu’s flight from Ethiopia and the assumption of power by the opposition coalition.

In this respect the book is well documented regarding the political events from 1974 to 1991, but unfortunately has much less information about the economic conditions of those years. And although it is said that the author had access to oral information, there seems little sign of it in the text, on the contrary there appears to be a heavy reliance upon official documents, reports and newspapers. The book will therefore disappoint those who were hoping for a more thoroughly-researched work.

What we have here is not the full story of the Ethiopian revolution as is implied, but rather a much more narrowly-focused account of the internecine struggles among the Ethiopian élite in the aftermath of the deposition of the emperor Haile Selassie in 1974. And from this point of view the book is a valuable addition to what is already known. The author is now Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of Addis Ababa, and his text reads as though written by a lawyer, not an historian, it is also heavily laden with sociological language. In sum it is an academic work. This need not have been a disadvantage had the author allowed himself a little more rein to his feelings, feelings which do occasionally show through but are quickly pushed back under wraps. History is made by passionate people, and needs to be written by those who are at least willing to acknowledge their own passions.

However, the book has a number of pluses to recommend it.

The first thing the book does is to detail how the Derg arose and assumed power in 1974, clearly indicating that the officer junta at the centre of the Derg had no coherent ideology. The adoption of, first, ‘Ethiopian socialism’ and then ‘Marxism-Leninism’ was demonstrably a need to ward off criticisms of the left political groups, plus a need to acquire an identity recognisably different to the old autocracy. I recall that at the time I was in Ethiopia I said (to another British ex-pat) that the Mengistu regime reminded me of a ‘military dictatorship salad with Marxist dressing’. Andargachew’s book confirms in some detail this off-the-cuff remark.

Secondly, there is the evidence that nearly all of the left-wing political groups that emerged in 1974 were rooted in the Ethiopian student associations which had been formed in Europe and the USA. These student-based movements brought to the Ethiopian revolution an ideology and purpose lacking in the military junta. Unfortunately this ideology was a) heavily larded with Stalinism (aka ‘Marxism-Leninism’), b) not rooted in the social conditions of Ethiopia, and c) bringing with it the instability inherent in student politics.

Thirdly, there is evidence produced to show that the mass struggles in the urban centres were largely spontaneous, but without a clear political aim, other than the removal of leading officials in the respective organisations, factories or administrative units. All of the mass struggles did have clear but limited economic demands, none of which were – in themselves – revolutionary. What was revolutionary was the mass actions themselves, that is, the very act of mass strikes, mass demonstrations, petitions, and demands became revolutionary in the conditions of 1974. Andargachew does not always seem to appreciate this point. The history of all mass revolutions demonstrates that the initial spark is often a seemingly insignificant event, the revolutionary aims and aspirations only emerge in a dynamic process, not as preconceived goals. However, the intervention of the left student groups did provide some coherence to the mass movements of early 1974. And this again is not unusual.

However, these mass actions in the urban centres began to flag in the middle of 1974 and then began to be repressed by the Derg when it assumed full power. It is this latter point that marks out the Ethiopian revolution, since rarely has a counter-revolutionary group evolved so rapidly right at the heart of the main instrument of the revolution and succeeded in taking control of the process. Ethiopia and Iran both provide clear examples of counter-revolutionary revolutions, something previously not considered possible. Perhaps what baffled people longer in the case of Ethiopia was the adoption of ‘socialist’ rhetoric by the military.

Andargachew also provides clear evidence that the mass executions, the ‘Red Terror’, etc., although engulfing large sections of the population, were essentially power struggles within the new modernising élite created by the old autocracy. They were not, and could not be, class struggles even of a surrogate nature. Each of the factions loudly proclaimed adherence to ‘Marxism-Leninism’, and labelled their opponents with all the political swear-words from the Stalinist lexicon. Since 90 per cent of the population were illiterate the nature of such ‘discourse’ must have been a mystery. However, to be thought to be on the ‘wrong’ side could mean the loss of life. It is little wonder then that official policies could be guaranteed approval by acclamation.

Perhaps what is most interesting in this book is the attempt to bring in the international dimension of the Ethiopian and other such revolutions. The most significant, overbearing fact of life for any such revolution was the Cold War. Any such revolution was faced with a dilemma. The US-dominated coalition looked upon even the mildest reformism as ‘communist’ and hence had to be subverted, repressed and finally overthrown. Revolution was anathema. The only power that was capable of providing any sort of aid to such revolutions was the Soviet Union (and to a lesser degree China). And along with such aid came ‘Marxism-Leninism’. And we all know what that meant. Perhaps with the demise of the Cold War there now arises the possibility of modernising revolutions that need not fall foul of these dilemmas, but the prospects are not good.

As I said earlier, this book does add to our knowledge on a number of the details of the period 1974–87 in Ethiopia, and as such is to be welcomed. However, it seems to me that Andargachew has not sufficiently dug into the origins of the Mengistu clique who came to supreme power in 1977. From the evidence that he presents it suggests that this clique was in being before the revolution began, hence its ability – being strategically placed within the military – rapidly to become dominant. Perhaps this will become clear as time goes on, when archives have been opened fully.

Finally, what is lacking in this book is any ‘feel’ for the mass of the ordinary Ethiopians who had to endure the bloody years of Mengistu’s rule. Valuable as it is, the concentration upon the faction fights within the élite cannot be the whole story. The masses only appear as a backdrop to the story told in this book, yet without them there would be no story. The author claims that the mass of ordinary people were actually worse off at the end of Mengistu’s rule than they were before 1974. This may well be true, given the enormous sums devoted to armaments, but it would have been useful to have some figures.


Ken Tarbuck   |   ETOL Main Page

Last updated: 3 July 2014