Ethiopia and Sudan A Crisis of Trust and Fluctuating Political Relations 1945–1974

Abstract

Political relations between states are shaped by a range of factors that can render them either stable or tense. Among these factors are border issues and their potential to generate conflict or harmony, the intermingling of tribes across borders, disputes over natural resources such as oil and water, and the intervention of one state in the affairs of a neighboring state to achieve specific objectives. Additional determinants include the nature of geographic proximity, regional dynamics, and the influence of major and regional powers.

Ethiopian–Sudanese relations after the Second World War were marked by repeated downturns, with trust between the two countries fluctuating due to border disputes, differences in political systems, and Ethiopia’s ambitions to expand its territory and secure access to the Red Sea.

The period during which Jaafar Nimeiri came to power in Sudan represents one of the clearest phases of Ethiopian engagement with Sudan under the rule of Emperor Haile Selassie, both politically and militarily. Ethiopia exploited the conflict in southern Sudan, where a predominantly Christian population sought secession, and provided them with political, military, and economic support. In response, Sudan supported the Eritrean national movement militarily in its struggle for independence from Ethiopia.