Making Citizens in Africa
Ethnicity, Gender, and National Identity in Ethiopia

Provides a study of contemporary politics in Ethiopia through an empirical focus on language policy, citizenship, ethnic identity and gender.

Lahra Smith (Author)

9781107610385, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 20 May 2013

275 pages, 3 maps 3 tables
22.8 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm, 0.4 kg

'Ethiopia's policies of ethnic federalism have generated a great deal of analysis and debate among scholars. Lahra Smith develops the concept of 'meaningful citizenship' to make a valuable intervention in these debates … Smith's conception of 'meaningful citizenship' and attention to gender are valuable contributions to scholarship of Ethiopia and African politics, and her balanced accounts of Ethiopia's history and politics provide a very useful introduction for students who are new to the Ethiopian case.' Daniel Mains, African Studies Review

Smith argues that citizenship creation and expansion is a pivotal part of political contestation in Africa today. Citizenship is a powerful analytical tool to approach political life in contemporary Africa because the institutional and structural reforms of the past two decades have been inextricably linked with the battle over the 'right to have rights'. Professor Lahra Smith's work advances the notion of meaningful citizenship, referring to the ways in which rights are exercised, or the effective practice of citizenship. Using data from Ethiopia and developing a historically informed study of language policy, ethnicity and gender identities, Smith analyzes the contestation over citizenship that engages the state, social movements and individuals in substantive ways. By combining original data on language policy in contemporary Ethiopia with detailed historical study and a focus on ethnicity, citizenship and gender, this work brings a fresh approach to Ethiopian political development and contemporary citizenship concerns across Africa.

Introduction
Part I. The Challenge: Unequal Citizenship: 1. Comparative perspectives on citizen-creation in Africa
2. The historical context for modern Ethiopian citizenship
Part II. The Response: The State and Its Citizens: 3. Popular responses to unequal citizenship
4. A referendum on ethnic identity and the claims of citizenship
5. No going back on self-determination for the Oromo
6. Ethiopian women and citizenship rights deferred
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Civil rights & citizenship [JPVH1], Human rights [JPVH], Ethnic minorities & multicultural studies [JFSL1], Social discrimination & inequality [JFFJ]