A review on: John M.

Cohen, "Ethiopia: A Survey on the Existence of a feudal peasantry,"

Cambridge University Press, Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol. 12, No.4 (Des, 1974), 665-
672.1

John M. Cohen was known for his participation in different governmental and non-governmental
organizations in Ethiopia and Kenya. His academic career began in 1971 when he joined Haile
Selassie I University; later, he joined Harvard University in 1979, and thence Cornell University. 2 He
wrote a piece of work as a tenured companion that dealt with the themes of land, tenure, peasantry,
feudalism, and others. John M. Cohen's first-hand article, "Ethiopia: A Survey on the Existence of a
Feudal Peasantry," is one of his great works on the feudal peasantry.

There is a literature gap in the landlord-peasant relationship in Ethiopia. Hence, many studies
explored the conceptual difficulties involved in applying the terms "feudal'' and "peasant" in the
African context due to their perceived tribal origins in the African social system. The paper attempts
to describe the distinctive but underappreciated developments of the Ethiopian peasantry and feudal
system by reviewing various literary works that deviate from social theorists through descriptive
analysis.

In fact, Cohen examined a wide range of literary works on the subject of Ethiopian feudal peasantry,
including its etymology, historiographical developments, peasant’s livelihoods such as the dependent
nature of households, and Ethiopia's transition from feudalism to undeveloped capitalism. Indeed, he
reviewed materials that pigeonholed the Ethiopian land tenure system into communal, church,
private, and state ownership. Moreover, he made an effort to review and evaluate the literature on the
important characteristics, roles, and basic information of Ethiopian peasants and tenants. Cohen also
looked at the literature on the intricate and exploitive nature of Ethiopian tenancies, religious and
ethnic divisions, and substantive stratification cleavages. Cohen reviewed the literature regarding the
aforesaid complicated themes, which lead to urbanism and social stratification.

Cohen undoubtedly made an effort to highlight the distinctive and intricate aspects of the Ethiopian
social order that social theorists had overlooked. He thus exposes the vacuum in the literature,
regional balkanization, and lack of comprehensive research on the Ethiopian feudal peasantry. His
comprehensions of the variables of the Ethiopian social system, which differ from place to place,
encourage scholars to pursue their research in these anomalous yet challenging thematic areas.
Generally, according to Cohen, among many factors, intellectual dependence, regional balkanization,
the negative connotations of feudalism, and the peasantry hinder Ethiopians from further study in this
thematic area.

1
Yalemzewd Dessie Tegegne; Doctoral Candidate, Faculty of Social Science, History Program at Bahir
Dar University, Ethiopia, Lecturer, Facility of Social Science and Humanities, Department of History and Heritage
Management at Debre Markos University, Debre Markos, Ethiopia. Email: yalemzewddessie@gmail.com
yalemzewd_dessie@dmu.edu.et Phone Number: +251910691566
2
John M. Cohen, ‟Integrated Rural Development: The Ethiopian Experience and debate, Motala Grafiska,
Motalaˮ, The Scandinavian Institute of African Studies, 1987, .i.