Ethiopia - Security Policy

The Ethiopian military is an institution that is by nature secretive and difficult to access for outsiders. The Ethiopian military was "built the wrong way" when the current government came to power and that is fractured along ethnic lines. Ethnicity in the military was much less a factor in the Derg army than it is now. The government has years of practice at "systematic segregation" and that they are good at it. The Amhara and Oromo in the military know they serve the Tigrayan elite and not the broader interests of the Ethiopian state. Since the purge in late 2006, Tigrayans constituted 60-70 percent of the officer corps. The soldiers continue in military because they need the jobs to get paid.

As with many other countries whose militaries possessed Soviet-era equipment, the Ethiopian military is in the process of modernizing its force, both intellectually and in regards to materiel systems. With a modest domestic defense industrial base, Ethiopia’s 2002 Foreign Affairs and National Security Policy and Strategy mandated that the economic and defense sectors should benefit one another, and that factories designed for military purposes should also be geared to produce commodities needed by the civilian community. The goal is to reduce the negative impact of military spending on the economy.

Ethiopia's foreign and security policy is centered around development that benefits the people and creating conducive situations for such development. Ethiopia's national interests and security will be guaranteed only if rapid development is attained. Our main security threat is of an internal nature. The danger is that widening poverty may lead to our collapse, and that the absence of democracy and good governance may result in bloodshed and destruction. This threat can be removed through overcoming poverty, through development and economic initiative. It is only when Ethiopia builds a strong economy that it can effectively defend against external threats.

An important component of the effort to create a fertile ground for democratization and development is seeking cooperation opportunities and bringing them to fruition. Also important is the prevention and mitigation of hazards. Ethiopia needs to develop strategies to forestall threats directed against national interests and security.

Some time ago the Siad Barre regime in Somalia launched an attack on Ethiopia on the presumption that Ethiopia was unable to offer a united resistance and that it would break up under military pressure. The regime in Eritrea (the shabia) similarly launched an aggression against Ethiopia thinking along the same lines. Both regimes were soundly defeated because of their misguided and misconceived perceptions. However, until their defeat, they had dragged Etiopia into war for the duration and inflicted massive damage. If Ethipia had not been vulnerable, they would have realized that their intentions would not bear fruit. Being vulnerable invites pressure and attack from all types, from village tyrants to more powerful adversaries.

Past governments indulged in jingoism with an empty stomach, adversely exposing Ethiopia to even greater vulnerability because it was not in their character to promote democracy, good governance and rapid development. Militarism and arrogance have also in another way exposed Ethiopia to peril. They have produced conflicts that could have been prevented and worsened their consequences. This mentality has stifled debate, dialogue, give and take, and prevented the country from focusing on the fundamental issues.

Strength in military power is a necessary pre-condition for deterrence and effective diplomatic action. Even if conflict were to break out, a strong military would help to acquire victory with minimal damage to efforts directed at building democracy and fostering development. It is therefore proper that the institution of an intelligence capacity, and the strengthening of defense capabilities must be the basic strategy to realize the country's foreign affairs and national security objectives.

But critics maintain that the central purpose of Ethiopia's foreign and security policy has remained the same, in spite of the shift in orientation as well as clichés and shibboleths. The change in discourse has not brought about a change in essence. Still building defense capability takes precedence over ensuring human security in today's Ethiopia. Non-military aspects of security have been relegated to a secondary place whilst human security should have been made to constitute the basis of the FANSPS. with the cessation of the Cold War and the advent of globalization in the international arena, the concept of security is expanding to focus more on people than on the state.

The modern formulation gives primacy to the safety and well-being of all the people everywhere in their homes, in their jobs, in their streets, in their communities, in their environment, whilst the classical conception of security emphasizes territorial integrity and national independence as the primary values that need to be protected. The latter has been related more to nation-states than to people.

The white paper officially known as Foreign Affairs and National Security Policy and Strategy (FANSPS) of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia (FDRE) and subject it to critical scrutiny and evaluate its implementation. The FANSPS is premised on the proposition that ³security policy is a matter of ensuring national survival. The alpha and omega of security is the ensuring of national survival. Other national security issues may be raised only if national existence is ensured. Foreign affairs and security policy must be formulated first and foremost to ensure national security. Issues of prosperity, sustainable peace, and stability and other related concerns then follow.´

The Defense forces expressed their commitment to contribute to the socio-economic development of the country at the Sixth FDRE Defense Forces Day, celebrated 12 February 2018 under the motto, "We shall be guarantor of the renaissance of our country by protecting our constitutional system and consolidating the peoples culture" through different activities. Following a panel discussion organized in connection with the Defense Forces Day at Kolfe Keranyo Sub-city today, Head of Inspection Office at Ministry of Defense, Major General Hachalu Shelama, told ENA that the defense forces have gained recognition from the respecting the public and the Constitution.

The defense forces have been active actors in community development, he added. Armed Forces Hospital Quality Control and Evaluation Head, Colonel Silas Gebremikael said they have been participating in charity in addition to ensuring and protecting the nation. She added that they have been supporting poor farmers during harvest and the needy people in different parts of the country by building houses.