History Education in Ethiopia Post-1991: Rethinking the Nation’s History in the Context of “Decolonization” Debates

African postcolonial national identities are under (re)construction, facing persistent problems of disparity and social and “ethnic” inequality. Ethiopia, despite a heritage of State identity and “unity in diversity,” is vulnerable to fragmentation and identity politics, notably since the “ethno-federalist” political model introduced by the EPRDF regime (1991-2018). The resultant questioning of shared historical identity is also reflected in history education and curricula. Based on the last product of the process of rethinking Ethiopian history teaching (the “History Module” of 2020) and against the background of the recent academic movement towards “decolonizing” the historical and social sciences, I discuss the main positions in the current debate. I raise the question of whether a common, minimally shared history of Ethiopia—as a nation and a political entity—is now illusory or still an aim and if so, how it could be taught.