Abstract
What role do lawyers play when a nation stands at the brink of war? This Article examines how Ethiopia’s legal profession navigated escalating political instability in the years leading up to the country’s devastating civil war (2018–2022). It traces how private attorneys, judges, prosecutors, government legal advisors, human rights advocates, consultants, and law academics engaged with shifting power dynamics, ethical dilemmas, and political tensions, revealing their complex positioning as both actors and intermediaries in the unfolding crisis. Some resisted factional political pressures and sought to uphold legal principles, while others adapted to the fragile conditions and aligned with prevailing currents, illustrating both the resilience and vulnerability of lawyering under authoritarianism and conflict. The Ethiopian case underscores a broader concern: although the rule of law is often assumed to stabilize governance and foster conflict resolution, in deeply divided societies legal framing may entrench divisions rather than bridge them. It may intensify tensions rather than ease them. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Ethiopia’s legal community, whether intentionally or not, helped transform a dispute between national and regional authorities into a legal battle over delayed elections, entrenching opposing sides and escalating the conflict. By situating Ethiopia’s case within debates on the rule of law in postcolony, this Article shows that overreliance on legalistic mechanisms in contexts marked by entrenched historical and sociological grievances may deepen political divides rather than resolve them. More broadly, it argues that law’s potentialities to mediate political crises are not only limited but may at times exacerbate instability, highlighting the paradoxical role of law and lawyers in moments of national crisis.
Recommended Citation
Mekonnen F. Ayano,
Lawyering on the Eve of War: The Role of Law and Lawyers in Ethiopia’s Civil War, 2018–2024,
130
Dick. L. Rev.
383
(2026).
Available at:
https://insight.dickinsonlaw.psu.edu/dlr/vol130/iss2/2