In late 2016, the US State Department issued a travel warning for Ethiopia on the basis
of quote “ongoing unrest that has led to hundreds of deaths, thousands of arrests,
as well as injuries and extensive property damage.”
Despite instability in the country, Ethiopia has maintained relations with the US, so what
exactly is the basis of their complicated relationship?
Well, formal relations between the US and Ethiopia stem back to 1903.
The US had economic interest in the region, and Ethiopian officials appreciated that America
did not seek to colonize parts of Africa, as other Western powers were doing at the
time.
Their alliance expanded after the second world war, with trade, amity and mutual defense
agreements.
Today, the US and Ethiopia are bound together by shared interests, one of which is security
in the horn of Africa.
Ethiopia’s neighbor, Somalia has long suffered from weak governments and widespread poverty,
paving the way for radical insurgencies.
In 2006, one terror group, al-Shabaab, was able to invade the country’s capital, Mogadishu,
alongside other Islamic groups.
This move prompted a clandestine US-Ethiopian alliance to recapture the Somali capital in
an attempt to wipe out the insurgency, but after three years the operation was disbanded,
proving to be unsuccessful at removing the insurgent group.
Still, the two countries have since cooperated in further efforts to bring down al-Shabaab,
with the US contributing drone strikes and working with Ethiopian intelligence services.
Additionally, Ethiopia relies on the US for trade and humanitarian assistance.
Since 2000, Ethiopia has received preferential trade benefits under the African Growth and
Opportunity Act, which broadens the access of sub-saharan African countries to US markets.
The US is one of Ethiopia’s top five economic partners, with bilateral trade amounting to
nearly $2 billion dollars in 2015.
The US also donates more than half a billion dollars in developmental and humanitarian
aid each year.
Most of the funds are used to mitigate widespread hunger and poverty, as Ethiopia suffers from
perpetual droughts and famine.
The remainder is used to train its military..
But the US-Ethiopian alliance has attracted a considerable amount of criticism, particularly
concerning Ethiopia’s poor record with human rights.
The country’s de facto one-party state has a history of cracking down on virtually all
forms of opposition, for instance raiding protests, rigging elections, and jailing more
journalists than almost any other country in Africa.
Many have accused US officials of turning a blind eye to Ethiopia’s repressive regime
as a way to protect the two countries’ crucial security partnership.
And in fact, the US has yet to intervene or withdraw aid.
But US officials have publicly condemned the government’s attacks on democracy, free
press and human rights, and if their abuses continue, this bilateral relationship may
soon be in serious jeopardy.
Ethiopia is still struggling to improve its human rights record, while also battling institutional
corruption at nearly every level of society.
So, just how corrupt is Ethiopia?
Find out by watching this video.
Recent elections have seen party officials claiming over 99.9% of the vote, spurring
riots and accusations of rigged elections.
During a 2005 election, police fired on a crowd of protesters who were disputing election
results, killing 22 people.
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