Popular protests in the Amhara region and political reforms in Ethiopia, 2016–2018

ABSTRACT The Amhara Region protests originated in Gondar in 2016 and swiftly spread. The study addresses the questions of how mass mobilization occurred in Amhara, the dynamics, diffusion, and contribution of the protests to national political reforms. Using the political process model, the study identified several local and external factors that provided opportunities for mobilization. Researchers conducted in-depth interviews with activists, government officials, residents of North Gondar, and scholars. The study finds the bitter relationship between Amhara elites and the Tigray People's Liberation Front, the presence of opposition political party structures in the region, divisions in the ruling coalition, the diaspora community, and protests in Oromia to be the major factors that promoted the Amhara protests. Furthermore, the research found out that social capital and social media sites played influential roles in spreading anti-government protests across the region. The study contends that Amharas contributed toward national political reforms through spreading the protests to a wide geographical area and throughout the social and political environment, which compromised the government’s ability to repress decisively.