Basic Documents Of The Ethiopian Revolution

This book is a comprehensive account of the Ethiopian revolution, dealing with the entire span of the revolutionary government's life. Particular emphasis is placed on effectively isolating and articulating the causes and outcomes of the revolution. The author traces the revolution's roots in the weaknesses of the autocratic regime of Haile Selassie, examines the formative years of the revolution in the mid-seventies, when the ideology of scientific socialism was espoused by the ruling military council, and finally charts the consolidation of Mengistu Haile Miriam's power from 1977 to the adoption of a new constitution in 1987. In examining these events, Dr Tiruneh makes extensive use of primary sources written in the national official language. He was also the first Ethiopian nation to write a book on this subject. This book is thus a unique account of a fascinating period, capturing the mood of the revolution as never before, yet firmly grounded in scholarship.

" . . . an excellent, comprehensive account of the Ethiopian revolution . . . essential for anyone who wishes to understand revolutionary Ethiopia." —Perspective "This masterly history deals with the Emperor and the Dergue . . . on their own terms. . . . [Keller] buttresses his analysis with careful and useful detail." —Foreign Affairs "Keller's analytic grasp of the complex features of Ethiopian history and society from a wide range of sources is remarkable." —African Affairs

A survey of Ethiopian affairs, focusing on the overthrow of the monarchy during the 1974 revolution. Interdisciplinary in approach, the book reformulates conventional theories of jurisprudence to make them applicable outside of their Western context.

This is a book on Ethiopia by an Ethiopian scholar. It is an inside look, a probing mirror-image analysis by one of the members of the Ethiopian intelligentsia of the postwar years and about their role in the revolutionary upheavals during the past decades. Most of the data quoted in this book are based on documents of Ethiopian, British, United States', World Bank, and United Nations' origin. Large parts of these documents were kept on a top secret list for a long time, and others are still restricted. Some crucial points are elucidated by questionnaires gathered from former high-level consultants of the Haile Selassie regime and more than 50 Western expatriates, the author's reminiscences of personal audiences with Emperor Haile Selassie, as well as interviews of some key political personalities. These include an anonymous former member of the Derg (the unusually secretive military committee that presided over the dethronement of Emperor Haile Selassie) and the main leaders of the two most important political parties-the All Ethiopian Socialist Movement (MEISON) and the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Party (EPRP)-both of which emerged during the final years of the feudal regime. This valuable resource which furnishes a rare insider's look will be a welcome addition to collections in African Studies and Political Science.