African Subjugation Part One: The Ethiopian Anomaly

Before we dig into international relations, let’s establish the curious circumstances surrounding Ethiopia. With the exception of South Africa, Ethiopia is arguably the most comprehensively unique country in Africa. Ethiopia is one of two African countries (the other being Liberia, which is quite another story) that retained sovereignty throughout the twentieth century. Ethiopia was occupied by Italy for five years preceding World War II, but has otherwise avoided imperialism. This is the prevailing theory as to why Ethiopians are so friendly towards foreigners (read: The White Man) – their experience with whites is not one of conquest and villainy.

With a population of 85 million, Ethiopia ranks second to Nigeria amongst African countries. The population growth rate is 3.2%, one of the highest figures in the world. Mass urban migration to the sprawling metropolis of Addis Ababa is rapidly changing the economy from one of agricultural domination to soft industrialization, though the majority of the people still belong to a strictly agrarian society.

Most interestingly, Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world. This is not an enviable position. Ethiopia is forced to trade through the Horn’s ports in Eritrea, Djibouti, and Somalia. This trying situation is made more problematic by jagged relations with Somalia and Eritrea, the latter which is more or less at war with Ethiopia. The products Ethiopia does export from the Horn – coffee, khat, and traditional fruits and vegetables – aren’t exactly golden egg-laying hens. There is little oil inside Ethiopia. Still, Ethiopia has the agricultural capability to export huge amounts of food to surrounding countries, and was even called a potential "breadbasket for Europe" by the New York Times if they could ever organize their agricultural industry. Ethiopia does have one intriguing 21st Century resource - water - but the surrounding need is not yet desperate.

This leaves Ethiopia as a large, rapidly expanding country with limited opportunity for economic refreshment. The people of Ethiopia are poor - almost all of them.

And this is where things get interesting. I was always under the impression that poverty and crime had a directly causal relationship, but Ethiopia has little crime and almost none of it is violent. Before coming out here I assumed that was because there were no weapons (false - AK-47s are more ubiquitous than wireless routers) or there was something distinctly unique about the culture, but I now believe the explanation is a little simpler. About a month ago, in a debate on the right to bear arms, a wise man told me his theory why Ethiopia has so little crime:

Because everyone is poor. The lack of an upper class eliminates potential conflict. It's not poverty that begets crime, it's the explicit gap between the upper and lower class. If there's nothing worth stealing, stealing's not worth it. Contrast this with the most violent places in America, cities like Los Angeles and St. Louis, and it becomes self-explanatory. There are a lot of reasons why crime isn't an issue here, but that's the most plausible.

Despite its sustained independence, Ethiopia certainly hasn't been immune to the vagaries of hegemony. I'll discuss more later - and explain why I can't right now.