Mereja.Forum

However, in my view, the war in Tigray has been caused and perpetuated to a large extent by one self-serving belief among Tigrayan political elites. I call this belief “Tigrayan exceptionalism,” something akin to what is commonly known as “American exceptionalism.”
Tigrayan exceptionalism is essentially marked by contradictory myths, narratives, and interests, which all boil down to a demand for differential treatment and special entitlement. This attitude from the elite contributed to the current crisis and is now among the obstacles to peace.

This exceptionalist attitude by Tigrayan elites has led them to embrace, perhaps unconsciously, the position that Tigray needs to always be at the center of Ethiopia’s state power—anything less is deemed unacceptable.

In both mainstream and social media, Tigrayan political elites began to paint war not as an internecine project with consequences of human suffering and destruction but as “Tigray’s cultural sport”, as if the art of war is an exclusively innate gift of Tigrayans.

Most hypocritical was TPLF’s accusation that Abiy’s administration is ‘unitarist’ and adamant to centralise power, as if its own 27 years in charge were not marked by centralization in the name of ‘revolutionary democracy’ and ‘democratic centralism.’

After the war broke out, Tigrayan exceptionalism took on a somewhat different form, but still had its core building blocks such as indomitability, omnipotence, and intransigence intact. In addition, the international media’s frequent reference of Tigrayan forces as ‘battle-hardened’ was taken as a global recognition of the exceptionalism.
Initially, TPLF’s military adventure did not go as planned. The federal government, assisted by Eritrean soldiers, Amhara forces, and military drones, managed to dislodge the Tigrayan regional administration in a matter of three weeks. This sent the first shock to the self-assurance of Tigrayan elites, creating temporary self-doubt and fuelling a desire for vengeance.

However, if Tigrayan elites are to rely on the constitution when it comes to solving the land dispute with Amhara or the release of the federal budget, they also need to show a willingness to accept the constitutional order.

In short, the current state of Tigrayan exceptionalism could be summed up as a blend of fear and courage, vulnerability and invincibility, omniscience and willful ignorance, and the desire to be free and in control.
The exceptionalism does not know any sort of compromise—something inherent in the general political culture of Ethiopia but particularly so among the Tigrayan elite. Persistence and stubbornness are viewed as coveted virtues, regardless of the net outcome.
As a result, no matter how many people die and how huge the destruction, all is justified as martyrdom and sacrifice, and such sacrifice is encouraged irrespective of the devastating consequences it has on the long-term interest of Tigray.

At the end of the day, Tigray’s salvation depends more on its elites’ ability to make peace with its neighbors than waging and winning war over them. Peace, of course, entails a painful compromise; but, whether one wins or loses, the cost of war is much higher than that of peace.