Building a National Army: The Paradoxes of Civil–Military Relations in Ethiopia.

This article examines the nature of civil–military relations (CMR) in postconflict states where rebel groups have won civil wars and rebuilt national armies, using Ethiopia’s experience from 1991 to 2018 as a case study. It argues that Ethiopia’s CMR is shaped by three key factors: the rebel/guerrilla origin of the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) and the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF), the regime’s revolutionary democratic ideology, and its hegemonic aspiration to dominate politically. Despite a legal framework mandating a nonpartisan, professional army under civilian control, the ENDF functioned as a partisan force loyal to the EPRDF, resulting in a paradox between formal democratic norms and authoritarian political practice. Additionally, the ENDF enjoyed strong international legitimacy through peacekeeping and regional security roles but suffered from limited domestic legitimacy due to ethnic favoritism, internal divisions, and its role in suppressing dissent. The study contributes to understanding CMR in postconflict African states by enhancing the explanatory power of the Integrated Civil-Military Relations (ICMR) framework and highlighting the interplay of rebel origins, ideology, and hegemonic ambitions in shaping military institutions.