Ethiopia’s new rebel alliance faces an old problem

• The formation of a new armed alliance seeking to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed follows a pattern that has plagued Ethiopia – an empire of many nations and nationalities still in the making – for decades.
• Those in power leave little space for peaceful political struggle; the winner takes it all, so those who feel disadvantaged take up arms to change the status quo.
• Actors and alliances change over time, but violence remains the only constant.