ABSTRACT

This article investigates the construction of citizens and subjects in eastern Ethiopia during the period of the British Military Administration from 1944 to 1954. It does so by examining processes of identity formation during this period. The article argues that when Britain administered parts of eastern Ethiopia during this period it entrenched customary authority, which became a focal point around which Ethiopian and British forms of domination collided in a bid to assert their authority. The contestation was about establishing hegemony over sections of the population by categorising them. The article demonstrates that current discourses on identification in eastern Ethiopia are not a post-1991 phenomenon, but are part of an ongoing historical process of negotiating identification. The article thus contributes to, and expands on recent literature that seeks a deeper understanding of ethnic federalism and the implications it will have on processes of identity formation in Ethiopia.

摘要

本文调查了1944年至1954年英国军事管理时期埃塞俄比亚东部公民和主体的建设情况。它通过研究这一时期的身份形成过程来进行调查。文章认为，在此期间英国管理埃塞俄比亚东部的部分地区时，它巩固了习惯权威，这成为埃塞俄比亚人和英国统治形式相抵触以主张其权威的焦点。竞赛的目的是通过对人口的各个部分进行分类来建立霸权。该文章表明，埃塞俄比亚东部目前有关身份认同的论述不是1991年后的现象，而是正在进行的身份认同谈判历史过程的一部分。因此，该文章有助于