Ethiopia : James Currey : 9781847010339 : 1847010334 : 16 Jun 2011 : An historical overview of Ethiopia's transformation from a multicultural empire into a modern nation state. Provides the gist of one scholar's knowledge of this country acquired over several decades. The author of numerous works on Ethiopia, Markakis presents here an overarching, concise historical profile of a momentous effort to integrate a multicultural empire into a modern nation state. The concept of nation state formation provides the analytical framework within which this process unfolds and the changes of direction it takes under different regimes, as well as a standard for assessing its progress and shortcomings at each stage. Over a century old, the process is still far from completion and its ultimate success is far from certain. In the author's view, there are two majorobstacles that need to be overcome, two frontiers that need to be crossed to reach the desired goal. The first is the monopoly of power in