Identity Construction, Reverse Discourse and the Amhara Nationalism in Ethiopia.

This paper investigates how anti-Amhara ethnonationalist groups in Ethiopia have constructed derogatory terms such as *neftegna* (gun-holder) and *timkhtegna* (chauvinist) to justify violence, displacement, and discrimination against the Amhara people, and how Amhara nationalists have sought to reclaim and positively redefine these epithets as symbols of pride and resistance. Drawing on qualitative data from interviews with Amhara political leaders, scholars, genocide survivors, social media, and literature, the study employs Michel Foucault’s concept of reverse discourse to analyze this discursive struggle. It situates the emergence of ethnic nationalisms and anti-Amhara rhetoric within historical narratives shaped by colonial and fascist influences, as well as Ethiopia’s ethnic federalism established after 1991. The paper highlights the contested nature of Amhara identity and the rise of youth-led Amhara nationalism since 2015, which mobilizes collective identity by reframing historically negative labels as affirmations of Amhara patriotism and cultural resilience amid ongoing ethnic tensions and violence.