REWRITING ETHIOPIA’S PLACE IN THE WORLD: THE ETHIOPIAN AVIATION INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX Slides for ‘Global History of State Enterprises’ workshop Dr Joanne T omkinson Post-doctoral Researcher Department of Politics and International Studies, SOAS jt49@soas.ac.uk
UNDERSTANDING STATEHOOD THROUGH ARCHITECTURE PROJECT • Research is part of a broader ERC-funded project focused on ‘state building through the lens of state buildings’ • Includes government buildings, parliaments, regional headquarters, schools and airports • My research is about the international airports in Ethiopia and Ghana. • Both airports are owned by state-owned enterprises - and in both countries these airports have long been intertwined with aviation histories in both countries • Project website: www.africanstatearchitecture.co.uk/
WHY ETHIOPIA? Home of Africa’s most successful airline – Ethiopian Airlines – which is also one of Africa’s most successful state-owned enterprises Formed in 1945 by Ethiopia’s last emperor Haile Selassie I Airline has grown into a vast ‘aviation industrial complex’ Long been a major aerial gateway to Africa, so a state enterprise with a long reach
AFRICA’S FIRST INDEPENDENT AIRLINE
PAN-AFRICAN AGENDA Bahru Zewde (2001: p. 187) Ethiopian Airlines cut ‘the umbilical cord that had tied colony and ex-colony to the metropolis’.
GLOBAL AMBITIONS
GLOBAL REACH: 110 DESTINATIONS IN 5 CONTINENTS IN 2017
HISTORY: NAVIGATING SUPER POWER RIVALRIES: ITALY, BRITAIN AND US Then-regent Haile Selassie inspecting the first aircraft to land in Ethiopia, 1929 Source: Institute of Ethiopian Studies
IMPERIAL ORIGINS: PARTNERSHIP WITH TRANS WORLD AIRLINE (TWA) 1945
1950s-1970s: STRUGGLES OVER ETHIOPIANISATION
DERG YEARS (1974-1991) TURMOIL AND NEGLECT
EPRDF (1991-2019): INVESTMENT , EXPANSION AND RAPID TAKE-OFF
EMERGENCE OF AN ETHIOPIAN AVIATION INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX Ethiopian Airlines Group Maintenance, Ethiopian Ethiopian In-flight Ground Aviation Ethiopian Repair and Cargo Airports Skylight Hotel Catering Services Academy Airlines Overhaul
OBJECTIVES OF THE PRESENTATION AT THE ‘GLOBAL HISTORY OF STATE ENTERPRISES WORKSHOP , 26-27 NOVEMBER • Provide history of key moments in the evolution of Ethiopian Airlines and argue this history is not just a national history but a global one • Show how the airline (and associated state enterprises such as the airport) have been central to state-building efforts in Ethiopia since the 1940s • Argue that these state enterprises have also been key to internationalising the Ethiopian state, and thus a pivotal tool in Ethiopia’s international relations • Suggest that this case study shows how significant state enterprises can be in development in the global South, and highlight some key ingredients of success • For further information please contact me at jt49@soas.ac.uk
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