Ethnocentrism vis-à-vis Ethiopian Nationalism as Reflected in Yismake’s novels, Därtogada and Kïbur Dïngay

Abstract

This paper was intended to make a critical analysis on the state of ethnocentrism and pan-Ethiopian ideology during the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) regime as reflected in Yismake Worku’s two Amharic novels which are titled Därtogada (2009) and Kïbur Dïngay (2013) respectively. Van Dijk’s (1995; 1998) and Wodak’s (2009; 2017) Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) theories were employed to make the critical analysis. The fnding of the study revealed that the ethnocentric political system employed during the EPRDF’s period has been serving as a fertile and legitimate ground for the proliferation of tribal ideology at the expense of pan-Ethiopian ideology. In the two Amharic novels, the ethnic political system is portrayed as a perilous tool via which Ethiopia’s future existence as a unifed whole is in question mark. This inspired a strong nationwide mass movement to avoid such a divisive political thought on the one hand and to promote Ethiopian nationalism on the other.