Ethiopia’s Precarious Contemporary Foreign Policy Role in the Horn

Abstract

This paper examines Ethiopia's contemporary foreign policy choice dilemma, which involves a struggle to maintain its traditional security roles while attempting to redefine these roles in the face of emerging security challenges originating from within and without. The country's geopolitical position is currently adversely affected by domestic situations and external dynamics. The internal problem is intertwined with the unfolding political uncertainties in its northern part and has continued to shape the nature of diplomatic relations with its neighbors and the West. The influence of domestic politics on the external environment shapes the state's identity and the role it seeks to play in its vicinity. To this end, interviews and document analysis were used to gather primary and secondary sources. Then, the consulted sources were analyzed using a blend of descriptive, analytical, and evaluative methodologies within the discipline of international relations; particularly role theory, to address the questions of what, why, and how Ethiopia’s foreign policy operates. The paper argues that Ethiopia is increasingly facing the challenges of maintaining its traditional role, although the state seems to address the gradual move from a security provider to a security recipient state in the troubled geopolitical space by redefining its role. Hence, Ethiopia's foreign policy will face an inevitable disengagement from the wider region as long as the current sign and conditions of domestic-cum-external stresses facing the country continues unabated and if the state is incapable of recalibrating its regional policy to fit today's and future challenges.