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When Politics Cross an Ocean: Ethiopia, Ethnic Federalism, and a Divided Diaspora
Paperback
AnthropologyGeneral Political Science
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ISBN13: 9798254917014
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Apr 6 2026
Pages: 104
Weight: 0.33
Height: 0.22 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Apr 6 2026
Pages: 104
Weight: 0.33
Height: 0.22 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
When Politics Cross an Ocean examines how Ethiopia's experiment with ethnic-based federalism reshaped not only political life within the country, but also the everyday experiences of Ethiopians living abroad. Focusing on diaspora communities in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, the book shows how a political system designed to manage diversity inside a state traveled across borders, reorganizing relationships, identities, and forms of belonging in exile.
Drawing on interviews, community observation, and analysis of contemporary political developments, the book argues that ethnic federalism transformed identity into a primary framework of political life. While the system was introduced to address historical inequalities, it also generated new forms of fragmentation, mistrust, and competition. These dynamics did not remain confined to Ethiopia. They migrated with people, shaping diaspora communities where distance failed to provide insulation from political conflict.
The book traces this transformation across multiple levels of experience. It begins by examining the historical shift from centralized governance to ethnic-based federalism, then explores how large-scale migration carried these political categories into diaspora life. It shows how memory, remittances, activism, and digital communication sustain continuous engagement with homeland politics. In diaspora communities, this engagement reshapes everyday interactions, producing new forms of guardedness, fragmentation, and emotional strain.
The book also examines the role of social media in collapsing distance, accelerating polarization, and transforming diaspora members into real-time participants in political conflict. It highlights how diaspora cities such as Washington, DC function as distant capitals, where homeland struggles are re-enacted in new forms.
The final chapters analyze recent political developments under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, including the breakdown of reform, the Tigray war, and the expansion of conflict into the Amhara region. These developments reveal how identity-based governance, under conditions of weakened state trust, can turn political competition into existential struggle. The rise of Amhara diaspora mobilization is examined as a response to perceived insecurity within an ethnicized political system.
Ultimately, the book argues that political systems do not remain contained within national borders. In an era of migration and digital connectivity, they travel through people and communities, reshaping social life far beyond their origin. Ethiopia is the case, but the implications are global.
The book traces this transformation across multiple levels of experience. It begins by examining the historical shift from centralized governance to ethnic-based federalism, then explores how large-scale migration carried these political categories into diaspora life. It shows how memory, remittances, activism, and digital communication sustain continuous engagement with homeland politics. In diaspora communities, this engagement reshapes everyday interactions, producing new forms of guardedness, fragmentation, and emotional strain.
The book also examines the role of social media in collapsing distance, accelerating polarization, and transforming diaspora members into real-time participants in political conflict. It highlights how diaspora cities such as Washington, DC function as distant capitals, where homeland struggles are re-enacted in new forms.
The final chapters analyze recent political developments under Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, including the breakdown of reform, the Tigray war, and the expansion of conflict into the Amhara region. These developments reveal how identity-based governance, under conditions of weakened state trust, can turn political competition into existential struggle. The rise of Amhara diaspora mobilization is examined as a response to perceived insecurity within an ethnicized political system.
Ultimately, the book argues that political systems do not remain contained within national borders. In an era of migration and digital connectivity, they travel through people and communities, reshaping social life far beyond their origin. Ethiopia is the case, but the implications are global.
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