New Generation University College

Department of Global Studies and International Relations (GSIR)

MA in Global Studies
General Information
Course Title: Seminar on Ethiopia Foreign Policy and Diplomacy
Course Code: GSIR 621
Course Credit: 3chr
Contents: Seven Chapters
Convener: Shimellis Hailu (Assistant Professor of IR)
Phone: +251924385625
Email: Shimellishailu@yahoo.com
Course Descriptions
Foreign policy is state‟s official statement or guiding principles to implement its national interest
that emanate from its internal and external capacity. Diplomacy on the other hand, has been the
center of states‟ instrument to implementing its national interest and foreign policy since their
existence as sovereign polity. Students of political science, international relations, and Global
studies are expected to be aware about the art of diplomacy, foreign relations, foreign policy
making and interpretation which is a delicate process that requires clear understanding and
knowledge. Thus, the purpose of this course is to acquaint students with the theory and practices
of Ethiopians foreign policy and diplomacy. In doing so, the course enables the students to
understand evolutions, determinants, factors influencing decision making and patterns of
Ethiopians foreign policy and diplomacy.

To achieve the intended purposes, the course organized under seven chapters. The first chapter
deals with the land marks of Ethiopians foreign policy and diplomacy. Although, modern
Ethiopian state is the creation of 19th century political process, historical Ethiopians landmarks
going back to 3000 years. This chapter, therefore, discusses about Ancient and medieval period
Ethiopians foreign policy and diplomacy practices. The second chapter deals with contending
perspectives on „modern‟ Ethiopian polity and determinants of Ethiopian foreign policy. The
modern Ethiopian state formation and ongoing state building process is still under the debates of
three perspectives: greater Ethiopians perspective, national oppression perspective and colonial
thesis. This chapter examine about these three debates and their implications for Ethiopians

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foreign policy and diplomacy. In addition, chapter two discusses about both internal and external
determinants of Ethiopian foreign policy and diplomacy. Chapter three is about Ethiopian
foreign policy and diplomacy under imperial regimes (1855-1974). Under this chapter attempt
has been done to ascertain students with the foreign policy and diplomacy of Tewodros II,
Yohannes IV, Menelik II, Lij Iyasu and Haile Silassie I.

Chapter four deals with post 1974 Ethiopians foreign policy and diplomacy which focus on
Derg, EPRDF and Prosperity government foreign policy and diplomacy. Chapter five is about
Ethiopia‟s relations with international and regional organizations. Under this chapter an attempt
has been done to discuss the auspices of Ethiopians relations with regional organizations like
AU, EU, as well as international organizations like UN, WB, IMF, WTO etc. Chapter six is
about Ethiopia‟s relations with selected countries in the world. In this chapter focus is given to
selected horn of African, African, Asian, European and American countries. The last chapter
deals with the changes and continuities in Ethiopians foreign policy and diplomacy.
Learning Outcomes
The making and implementation of foreign policies take place in complex settings. The essential
features of Ethiopians foreign policy and diplomacy since the antiquity has exhibited both
changes and continues and therefore looking into the various perspectives on Ethiopian foreign
policy and diplomacy will enable the students grasp the whispered complexities. Hence, at the
end of this course students will be able to:
 Understand the nexus among foreign policy, national interest and diplomacy
 Understand the landmarks of „modern‟ Ethiopians foreign policy and diplomacy
 Comprehend contending perspectives on „modern‟ Ethiopian polity and its implications
for Ethiopians foreign policy and diplomacy
 Equipped with the understanding of determinants of modern Ethiopians foreign policy
and diplomacy
 Understand foreign policy principles and goals of imperial regime in Ethiopia
 Equipped with the knowledge of imperial regime diplomatic practices in Ethiopia
 Understand the determinants of Derg regime foreign policy and diplomacy in Ethiopia
 Equipped with understanding of the principles and goals of Derg regime foreign policy
and diplomacy in Ethiopia

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  Comprehend the internal and external setting led to shift of foreign policy and diplomacy
in post 1991 Ethiopia
 Understand the Transitional government of Ethiopia foreign policy issues and diplomatic
practices from 1991-1994
 Outline the FDRE government foreign policy and diplomacy principles and issues in
Ethiopia
 Grasp the prosperity government foreign policy goals and diplomatic practices in
Ethiopia
 Understand the history and natures of Ethiopia‟s relation with international organizations
(UN, WB, IMF, WTO etc)
 Understand the history and natures of Ethiopia‟s relation with regional organizations
(AU, EU, AfCFTA, RECs etc)
 Understand Ethiopia‟s historical relations with selected countries in the world (Horn of
African Countries, USA, China, Turkey, India, Britain, etc)
 Outline the patterns of Ethiopians foreign policy and diplomatic practices
Course Requirements
The course „Seminar on Ethiopian foreign policy and Diplomacy‟ requires pre-knowledge and
understanding of theoretical concepts of foreign policy, national interests and diplomacy.
Therefore, students are advised to read and understand these concepts before attending the
class of the course „seminar on Ethiopian foreign policy and diplomacy‟. Specially, students
should be expected to master well the course theories and practices of foreign policy and
diplomacy.
Groups Presentation or Reflections: During the first week of class, you will be expected to
form or select group for group based reflections and works which will begin in Week 2. Topics
for presentations and reflections are attached.

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Course Contents and Conveying Schedule
Period 1: Introduction
 Foreign policy, National interest and Diplomacy Nexus
 Landmarks of Ethiopian Foreign Policy and Diplomacy
 Ancient Civilization Diplomatic Relations
 Medieval Period Ethiopia‟s Diplomacy
Reading
Hill, Christopher. 2003. The Changing Politics of Foreign Policy, Macmillan: Palgrave
Krebs, Verena 2021, Medieval Ethiopian Kingship, Craft, and Diplomacy with Latin Europe, 1st
ed. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Phillips, Jacke 2019, „The Foreign Contacts of Ancient Aksum: New finds and some random
Thoughts‟, retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330483127
Smith, Steven; Hadfield, Amelia and Dunne, Tim 2006 Foreign Policy: Theories, Actors, Cases,
New York Oxford University Press
Breuning, Marijke. 2007. Foreign Policy Analysis: A Comparative Introduction, Macmillan:
Palgrave
Period 2: Contending Views on ‘Modern’ Ethiopian Polity
 Contending Views on „Modern‟ Ethiopian Polity
 Greater Ethiopian Perspective
 National Oppression Perspective
 Colonial Thesis
 Implications of these debates to Ethiopian foreign policy and diplomacy
 Determinants of „Modern‟ Ethiopian Foreign Policy and Diplomacy
 Internal determinants (Socio-Political Cohesion, Historical tradition, geopolitical
location, state identity, national capacity)
 Nile Hydro-Politics as crosscutting issue/determinant
 External determinants (International Law, Globalization and other states policies and
actions)

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Reading
Merera, Gudina, (2004). The State, Competing Ethnic Nationalisms and Democratization in
Ethiopia, African Juornal of Science, Vol. 9, Pp.27-50.
Merera Gudina, (2006), Contradictory Interpretation of Ethiopian History: the need for a New
Consensus in David Turton (ed.), Ethnic Federalism, the Ethiopian experience in
comparative perspectives, Addis Ababa: Addis Ababa University Press, chapter four, Pp.
119-129
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, (2002), Ethiopia’s National Security Strategy and
Policy, Addis Ababa: Ministry of Information.
Period 3: Imperial Regime Foreign Policy and Diplomacy, 1855-1974
 Tewodros II
 Yohannes IV
 Menelik II
Reading
Abota, Arka 2002, „Ethiopia‟s Foreign Policy Under Emperor Haile Selassie I: An Appraisal‟,
MA Thesis, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Period 4: Imperial Regime Foreign Policy and Diplomacy, 1855-1974
 Lij Iyasu
 Haile Silassie I
Reading
Abota, Arka 2002, „Ethiopia‟s Foreign Policy Under Emperor Haile Selassie I: An Appraisal‟,
MA Thesis, Addis Ababa University, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Clapham, Christopher 1969, Haile-Selassie’s Government, Longman Group Limited, London.
Imperial Ethiopian Government (IEG) 1931, „Constitution of the Empire of Ethiopia‟, Negarit
Gazeta, No.5, order 1/1935, p.11.
Imperial Ethiopian Government (IEG) 1955, „Revised Constitution of Ethiopia‟, Negarit Gazeta,
No.2, p.11.
Negussay Ayela. 1977. “The Foreign Policy of Ethiopia” in Aluko, Olatunde (Eds.). The Foreign
Policy of African States, London: Hodder and Stoughton.
Period 5: Derg’s Government Foreign Policy and Diplomacy, 1974-1991
 Internal and external settings

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  Determinants of Derg‟s Foreign Policy and Diplomacy
 Principles and Goals of Derg‟s Foreign Policy and Diplomacy
Reading
Amare Tekle 1989, „the Determinants of the Foreign Policy of Revolutionary Ethiopia‟, the
Journal of Modern African Studies, Vol. 27, No3, pp. 479-502.
Berouk Mesfin 2004, „A study of the decision making process and the strategies of Ethiopia‟s
foreign policy (1974-1991), with particular emphasis on Ethio-US relations‟, EJOSSAH,
Vol. 2, No.1, Pp.1-44
Clapham, Christopher 1988, Transformation and Continuity in Revolutionary Ethiopia,
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Negussay Ayela. 1977. “The Foreign Policy of Ethiopia” in Aluko, Olatunde (Eds.). The Foreign Policy
of African States, London: Hodder and Stoughton.
Period 6: Ethiopia’s Foreign Policy and Diplomacy Since 1991
 EPRDF Government Foreign Policy and Diplomacy
 Internal and external political contexts
 Transitional government of Ethiopia foreign policy objectives
 EPRDF government Foreign Policy and diplomacy Principles
 Prosperity Government Foreign Policy and Diplomacy
 Protest and the auspices of reform
 Reform policy on Horn of Africa Countries
 Extra-regional policy reform
 Internal conflict and External Diplomacy Stalemate with Western Countries
Reading
Alemayehu Fentaw 2010, „Ethiopia‟s Foreign Affairs and National Security Policy: The Case for
a Paradigm Shift‟, available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1511625
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. 2002. Ethiopia’s National Security Strategy and
Policy, Addis Ababa: Ministry of Information.
Negera Gudeta 2018, „Ethiopian Foreign Policy under Military and EPRDF Regimes: Changes
and Continuities‟, Journal of Political, Science and International Relations, Vol. 2, No.1,
Pp. 25-31.

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Teshome Chala 2020, „Ethiopia‟s Foreign Policy in the New World Order System: Foreign
Policy Direction and its Determinants,‟ International Relations and Diplomacy, Vol. 8,
No.10, Pp. 426-437
Abiy Ahmed 2019, „A Conversation with the Prime Minister of Ethiopia‟, Davos World
Economic Forum available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2l7KscqRro

Manickam Venkataraman 2020, „Ethiopia‟s new foreign policy challenges: scope for India‟s
engagement‟, Africa Review, DOI: 10.1080/09744053.2020.1736764
Period 7: Ethiopia’s Foreign Relation with international Organization (Presentation)
 Ethiopia‟s Foreign Relations with International Organization
 Ethiopia and League of Nations
 Ethiopia and United Nations (UN)
 Ethiopia and World Bank (WB)
 Ethiopia and International Monetary Fund (IMF)
 Ethiopia relations with UN Agencies
 Ethiopia‟s Foreign Relations with Regional Organizations
 Ethiopia‟s relation with AU
 Ethiopia‟s relation with EU
 Ethiopia‟s relation with African RECs
 Ethiopia‟s Relation with AfCFTA
Reading
Michael Woldemariam 2017, „Regional Powers, Great Power Allies, and International
Institutions: The Case of Ethiopia‟, in J. Warner and T. M. Shaw (eds.), African Foreign
Policies in International Institutions, Contemporary African Political Economy,
https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-57574-6_23 Chapter 23
Belete Belachew, (2013), the Dichotomy between Reality and Rhetoric in African Politics,
International Journal of Ethiopian Studies, Vol. 7(1 & 2), pp. 1-22.
Michael Woldemariam 2017, „Regional Powers, Great Power Allies, and International
Institutions: The Case of Ethiopia‟, in J. Warner and T. M. Shaw (eds.), African Foreign
Policies in International Institutions, Contemporary African Political Economy,
https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-137-57574-6_23 Chapter 23

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Period 8: Ethiopia’s Foreign Relations with African Countries (Presentation)
 Historical Overviews and Determining Factors (By the Convener)
 Ethiopia‟s Bilateral relations with Horn of African Countries (Somalia, Djibouti, Sudan,
Eritrea and Kenya)
 Ethiopia‟s Bilateral relations with other African Countries
Reading
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, (2002), Ethiopia’s National Security Strategy and
Policy, Addis Ababa: Ministry of Information.
Mehari Taddele 2017, „a Regional Power in the Making: Ethiopian Diplomacy in the Horn of
Africa‟, South African Institute of International Affairs, Occasional Paper 261.
Period 9: Ethiopia’s Foreign Relations with Middle East and Asian Countries
(Presentation)
 Overviews of determinant factors and nature of relations (by convener)
 Ethiopia‟s Bilateral Relations with Middle East Countries (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar,
Israel and Others)
 Ethiopia‟s Bilateral Relations with Asian Countries (China, India, Japan, and Others)
Reading
Kinfe Abreha 2004, Ethiopia and Arab world: an Economic and diplomatic History of
Ethiopia’s Bilateral and Multilateral relations, FIIPD press.
Period 10: Ethiopia’s Foreign Relations with American and European Countries
(Presentation)
 Briefing of historical contexts (by the convener)
 Ethiopia‟s Bilateral Relations with American Countries (USA Canada, Cuba and Others)
 Ethiopia‟s Bilateral Relations with European Countries (Britain, France, Italy, and Others)
Reading
Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, (2002), Ethiopia’s National Security Strategy and
Policy, Addis Ababa: Ministry of Information.
Getachew Metaferia .2009. Ethiopia and the United States, New York: Algora Publishing
Period 11: Changes and Continuities in Ethiopia’s Foreign Policy and Diplomacy
 Changes
 Continuities

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Reading
Both, Peter 2004, International relations of Ethiopia: the Strategy of a Developing State,
Bloomington,IN.
Keller, Edmond, J. 2015, „the Politics of State Survival: continuity and changes in Ethiopian
foreign policy‟, the Annals of the American Academy
Teaching Learning Strategies Course Assessment
 Lectures  Term Paper and Presentation (individual)……30
 Individual and group discussions and  Group works and presentations……………….20
presentations  Reviews, participation and reflections………..10
 Reading and writing assignments  Final exam……………………………………40
 Reviews, reflections, case reports etc

Attachment
Final Papers Titles and Guidelines
Three final written papers will be expected for this course: group term paper, individual term
paper and individual Article review. Choose one of the following options for your final
individual term paper:
 Ethiopia‟s relation with any states in the horn of Africa-Bilateral relations (Kenya, Somalia,
Sudan, Djibouti and Eritrea)
 Ethiopia‟s Bilateral relations with states in the Middle East (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Israel, etc)
 Ethiopia‟s Bilateral relations with major European countries (Britain, France, Italy, etc)
 Ethiopia‟s Bilateral relations with major American countries (USA, Canada, Cuba, etc)
 Any other countries which has had long bilateral relationship with Ethiopia
 Crosscutting issues (Nile Hydro-diplomacy, Ethiopia‟s role in International peace keeping,
Patterns of Ethiopia‟s diplomatic missions, Foreign aid in Ethiopia etc)
Choose one of the following options for your final group term paper:
 Ethiopia and UN
 Ethiopia and International Financial Institutions (WB, IMF, WTO)
 Ethiopia‟s relation with AU
 Ethiopia‟s relation with EU
 Ethiopia‟s relation with African RECs

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  Ethiopia‟s Relation with AfCFTA
Requirements for both group written paper and individual term paper
 Preliminary Pages (full-fledged title page and Abstract)
 Concise Introduction (which synthesis together backgrounds, problem statements, objectives,
purposes, organization of the paper and methods (approach and data sources))
 Main discussion (discussing the issues by dividing under different sub-titles)
 Concluding remarks (should be more of synthesis rather than summary of the paper)
 For group works:- group members shall be not less than 4 and more than 6
 References (use reputable sources/references)
Technical requirements

 Use Times New Roman, 12 font size and 1.5 paragraph spacing
 10-15 pages (including references and Abstract) with full-fledged substance and academic
writing techniques
 Use uniform and scientific why of referencing both in incite and reference writing. APA
style is preferable for me.
 Citation of references for all statements of facts and figures are mandatory (in cite
reference).
 Your discussion must be more analytical focusing on causes, process and consequences
Requirements for reviews
Select any Articles or monograph or chapter in book which dedicated to Ethiopia‟s foreign
policy and diplomacy and review it. Pinpoint to the following requirements while doing review;
 Synopsis‟s (summary) of the finding of the Article
 Showing the strength of the paper ( article) in terms of –substances/facts, methodology,
data sources, arguments, writing techniques, clarity, coherence etc
 Showing the weakness of the paper in terms of –substances/facts, methodology, data
sources, arguments, writing techniques, clarity, coherence etc
 Your final judgment or views on the Article/paper
 All your comments or judgments must be academically reasonable and use sources for all your
comments.

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