Hegemony and Counter-Hegemony in Ethiopia: Imagining a Post-TPLF Order

Main Article Content

Solomon Kassa Woldeyesus
Mohammed Yimam Endris

Abstract

This article examines the discursive strategies, the ideological dominations and interrelated material tools employed by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in maintaining its rule. It also unravels the hegemonic crisis it has encountered, and the counter-hegemony it has confronted since 2015. Gramscian novelties of historical bloc, hegemony, organic crisis, counter-hegemony, and interregnum, are deployed in order to understand the continuities, ruptures and crises witnessed in Ethiopia’s politics for the past thirty years. The article interprets the crisis of the TPLF since the 2015 protests through the prism of organic crises and analyses the counter-hegemonic contestations, the interregnum and the ongoing war since 4 November 2020. The article adds to the recent resurgence of interest in Gramscian perspectives by demonstrating the relevance of Gramscian concepts to the understanding of politics in the states of the global south.

Article Details

How to Cite
Woldeyesus, S. K., & Endris, M. Y. (2021). Hegemony and Counter-Hegemony in Ethiopia: Imagining a Post-TPLF Order. Modern Africa: Politics, History and Society, 9(1), 119–148. https://doi.org/10.26806/modafr.v9i1.349
Section
Articles
Author Biographies

Solomon Kassa Woldeyesus, Bahir Dar University, Ethiopia

He is a Lecturer in the Department of Political Science and International Studies at Bahirdar University (BDU), Ethiopia. Prior to joining BDU, Solomon Kassa worked in Gondar University as a Lecturer. In addition to his engagement in teaching at BDU, he has been engaged in community-based development research. His research areas focus on political culture and state-society relations in Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa. E-mail: solomonkpre@gmail.com

Mohammed Yimam Endris, Bahir Dar University

He is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Studies at Bahir Dar University (BDU) and a PhD candidate in Political Science at Bahir Dar University. In addition to teaching at BDU, he has been providing community and outreach services in the form of training on peace building to concerned organizations and groups. His research interests are ethnic relations, transitional politics and peace building. E-mail: mohammedyimam2003@gmail.com