Background to Self-determination: International and Local

This chapter explores the historical and legal foundations that shaped the Ethiopian federation, emphasising both international and domestic influences on the principle of self-determination. Internationally, the chapter traces the evolution of self-determination through key global events, such as World Wars, UN Charters, and African and European human rights declarations, culminating in a legal and moral framework that justified national liberation. Domestically, it examines the formation of modern Ethiopia through conquest, settler colonialism, and ethnic subjugation, which triggered armed resistance and political movements, particularly by the Oromo and Tigray groups. The chapter also critiques the centralist imperial model and argues that Ethiopia's ethnonational diversity and historical injustices necessitated a federal arrangement as a political solution to longstanding national questions.