La dissoluzione dell’Impero d’Etiopia: anatomia di una rottura rivoluzionaria

The dissolution of the Ethiopian Empire: anatomy of a revolutionary rupture

Abstract

This essay offers a comprehensive constitutional analysis of the dissolution of the Ethiopian Empire, framing the 1974 revolutionary overthrow as a paradigmatic instance of extra-constitutional regime change. It examines the Derg’s deployment of exceptional punitive measures, the systematic dismantling of the imperial legal order, and the construction of a new authoritarian architecture grounded in military power rather than normative legitimacy. The paper also explores post-monarchical litigation, disputes over confiscated assets, and the contested preservation of imperial memory, highlighting the profound legal discontinuities that have shaped Ethiopia’s subsequent constitutional trajectory.

Keywords: Ethiopian Empire; Abolition of the monarchy; Transitional justice; Post-monarchical sanctions; Africa