Post-imperial statecraft: high modernism and the politics of land dispossession in Ethiopia’s pastoral frontier

The current EPRDF/TPLF government in Ethiopia continues to employ high-modernist development strategies, mirroring imperial ambitions, particularly in the pastoral lowlands of the Lower Omo Valley. This study reveals that two key elements—frontier expansion and high modernism—drive land dispossession, state legitimization, and suppression of dissent. Frontier imaginations are mobilized by government officials and company managers to justify large-scale relocations of pastoral communities, often through violent means. The research combines a historical review of Ethiopia's high-modernist ambitions with a detailed case study of contemporary land dispossessions in the Lower Omo Valley, exposing the ongoing impact of these colonial-era practices on local populations.

Regassa, A., & Korf, B. (2018). Post-imperial statecraft: high modernism and the politics of land dispossession in Ethiopia’s pastoral frontier. Journal of Eastern African Studies, 12(4), 613–631. https://doi.org/10.1080/17531055.2018.1517854