The effects of the Russia–Ukraine war on Ethiopian foreign policy roles

This paper assesses the impact of the Russia–Ukraine war on altering the foreign policy role conceptions of Ethiopia. In the following paper, we briefly describe role theory as a framework to examine changes in Ethiopian foreign policy that resulted from the shock of the war. We then use this framework to examine the impact that the Russia–Ukraine war had on Ethiopian foreign policy. We find that the war did not fundamentally change Ethiopia’s primary role conception as hegemon in the Horn of Africa, but it did change the means by which hegemony could be achieved. However, the war did cause Ethiopia to abandon its secondary role as defender of territorial integrity and national sovereignty.