Abstract
Since the 2000s, Ethiopia’s national government has implemented policies to incentivize diaspora investment and engagement in economic and social areas. But ideological and political rifts within the Ethiopian diaspora have resulted in mixed reactions to these policies. The Ethiopian government’s attempt to use an overarching national identity for the diaspora acts in opposition to its division of the country into ethnicity-based sub-national divisions. Some diasporans prefer to work on national and sub-national development with multilateral agencies, foundations, and NGOs rather than the government. Additionally, the government’s special incentives for the diaspora have varied over time. Pragmatic concerns such as the security of their investments and ideological clashes with the government in power also prevent widespread Ethiopian diaspora engagement with the country of origin.
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Chacko, E., Gebre, P.H. (2017). Engaging the Ethiopian Diaspora: Policies, Practices and Performance. In: Mangala, J. (eds) Africa and its Global Diaspora. African Histories and Modernities. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-50053-9_8
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