Özet:

Ethiopia’s foreign policy and strategy of the past several decades was characterized by ‘western-centric’ and highly securitized approaches. It was also dominated by a state to state relationship that marginalized the participation of non-state actors. The collapse of the former USSR in the late 1980s and the subsequent end of the Cold War era led to a significant transformation in the political economy of Ethiopia. In 1991 the largely ethnic and regional based guerrilla groups removed the military from power and established the late Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). Unlike its predecessors, the post-Cold War era Ethiopia’s foreign policy and strategy has been characterized by the effort to diversify its partners as well as area of engagement. As it is widely observed in the rationale of the EPRDF’s foreign policy and strategy document, supporting the democratization process of the local politics and addressing economic constraints through strategic trade negotiations, aid and foreign direct investment are highlighted as priority areas. Furthermore, non-western powers such as China, India, Turkey, Brazil, Malaysia and the oil reach Gulf States became the main external relation partners of Ethiopia in the post-Cold War period. This new form of engagement, under the frame work of the ‘South-South cooperation’, is characterized by a two-way or equal partner relationship that doesn’t rely on conditionality. As compared to the other non-western powers, Turkey’s socio-cultural and historical depth, its special effort to maintain peace and stability in the troubled Ethiopian region and Horn of Africa and its commitments to practically assist the economic development and poverty reduction efforts of Ethiopia make her a preferred foreign policy partner

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