Bandung to Accra: Ethiopia's Foreign Policy Transformation and the Making of a Pan-African Vanguard

Abstract This study examines Ethiopia's mid-twentieth-century foreign policy shift, highlighting its embrace of Pan-Africanism and proactive engagement with newly independent African states. Before the mid-1950s, Ethiopia pursued a cautious and largely detached approach to continental liberation movements, maintaining close alignment with the United States and limiting its support for anticolonial and racial justice initiatives. This position drew sharp criticism from the socialist bloc—most notably the Soviet Union, which denounced Ethiopia as an “African imperialist.” A decisive shift occurred between 1955 and 1958, catalyzed by Ethiopia's participation in the Bandung and Accra conferences. These diplomatic milestones deepened Ethiopia's engagement in Afro-Asian and Pan-African initiatives, repositioning the country as a key mediator in tribal and territorial disputes and as a vocal advocate for racial equality. Simultaneously, the scholarships initiated at the 1958 Accra conference fostered intellectual networks among African and Ethiopian students, facilitating the exchange of ideas and experiences rooted in revolutionary struggle. The paper argues that Ethiopia's foreign policy evolution from 1958 to 1963 not only reaffirmed its leadership in Pan-African discourse but also established its role as a foundational architect of Africa's postindependence political order.