The Dynamics of China - Ethiopia Relations during the Ogaden War, 1977-1978

Abstract

This study examines superpower competition in the Horn of Africa during the Ogaden War (1977-1978). It deals mainly with China’s response to the Ogaden War. The author uses both primary and secondary sources. Primary research sources were collected from various agencies and institutions such as the Ethiopian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Institute of Ethiopian Studies (IES), and periodicals using memoirs, speeches, and correspondence exchanges. Secondary sources are gathered from published and unpublished sources. The study defines conventional wisdom about superpower and Chinese intervention in the Horn of Africa during the Ogaden War; it seeks to highlight the complex interplay of real China’s foreign policy toward the Horn of Africa. It also describes China’s perspectives on policy in Africa and its response to the Ogaden War. The study claims that the Soviet Union’s influence in the Horn of Africa generally draws China into regional affairs. Indeed, Soviet influence in the Horn of Africa shifted the Ogaden War into an international dimension. Thus, the study concludes that China’s reaction to the Horn events was primarily aimed at leveling out the Soviet Union’s sphere of influence in the region.