Examining the nature of defensively situated politics of difference, identity and essentialism in Ethiopia: A critical engagement

Jeylan Wolyie Hussein

International Area Studies Review, 2016, vol. 19, issue 4, 340-354

Abstract: The paper presents an analysis of and challenges to various dimensions of defensively situated essentialisms about nation, people and identities in Ethiopia, examining the political, social and ideological underpinnings of essentialist perceptions and assessing their limitations. The author’s central argument is that limitations in essentialist positions and perspectives held about the meaning of nation, state and ethnic identity can be improved if a more context-sensitive and critical approach is adopted. The paper concludes with suggestions on what can and should be done to prevent essentialism and other totalizing logics from extending into the matrix of intellectual analyses of identities.

Keywords: Defensively situated essentialisms; Ethiopia; methodological nationalism; politics of difference; reification (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:intare:v:19:y:2016:i:4:p:340-354

DOI: 10.1177/2233865916666763

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