Description

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.