Changes in the (Namibian) Land

Abstract

The history and legacy of othering in Ethiopia during the nineteenth century is usefully applic-able in postcolonial Africa, where authoritarian elites have often created a category of ‘ other ’ in order to consolidate their power and privilege. We can cite numerous examples: in Sudan, where the othering process began first as the north versus the south and then between so-called ‘ Arabs ’ and non-Arabs; 7 or in Zambia, where the founding president and long retired Kenneth Kaunda was listed as a non-citizen illegal alien marked for deportation; 8 to the Ivory Coast, where the loser of the 2010 presidential contest, Laurent Gbagbo, labeled the winner, Alessane Ouattara, a non-Ivorian and refused to concede and transfer power. 9 Yates successfully demonstrates how othering has been a tool of governance well before the postcolonial era. Rather than his effort to extend the original meaning of H ᾶ b ᾶ sha linked to plundering and violence, and as such considered outmoded, into a pan-Ethiopian identity, his focus on ‘ othering ’ as a tool of governance is widely useful and important. But the book ’ s contribution lies in the utility of applying the Ethiopian theme of othering to broader African historical studies.