ShmoopTube

Where Monty Python meets your 10th grade teacher.

Search Thousands of Shmoop Videos


World History Videos 95 videos

African History 1: Intro
225 Views

Home to the biggest river, the biggest desert, and some of the biggest land animals in the world, Africa is so much more than what most media would...

Modern World History 2.11 French Revolution: Phase Two (and Three)
176 Views

Didn't get enough of the French Revolution the first time around? We've gotcha covered. Check out our second French Revolution video, preferably wi...

See All

African History 6.7 Communism and War in the Horn of Africa 9 Views


Share It!


Description:

“The Derg” might sound like a really fun ex-hippie uncle, but trust us: you wouldn’t want to mess with them.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:03

It’s pretty clear by this point that US and other Western opposition to socialism [Africa and USA tug of war over Socialism]

00:08

led to a lot of war in Africa.

00:10

So… it’s no shocker that the Soviet Union caused a bunch of problems on its end, too. [Soviet soldiers]

00:16

That country’s shenanigans in Ethiopia and the surrounding Horn of Africa are probably

00:20

the most glaring example.

00:22

So let’s…horn in on it… [Girl uses an air horn]

00:23

Here’s how it went down…

00:25

In 1974, our buddy Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia was violently overthrown by a

00:31

pack of Marxist military officers called The Derg. [The Derg throw Haile away]

00:35

The Derg didn’t take down Haile on their own.

00:37

The USSR hooked them up with all the weapons and money they needed to take Selassie down.

00:43

But not everyone in Ethiopia was cool with the Derg.

00:46

Moderate democratic socialists weren’t into the Derg’s hardcore ways, and civil war [Democratic socialists protest on the streets]

00:50

flared up immediately.

00:52

The war lasted from 1975 to 1991.

00:55

Yep, that’s over 15 years of Ethiopian on Ethiopian violence, brought to us by the USSR,

01:03

without commercial interruption.

01:05

Soviet strategists even helped the Derg write some of their greatest hits, like… mass [Soviet strategist playing the piano]

01:09

murder, purges, and military crackdowns.

01:13

Soviet influence spread out from Ethiopia like a bad case of poison ivy.

01:17

In 1976, the military interim government in Somalia was replaced by a socialist one-party state.

01:24

Islamic fundamentalists tried to put up a serious fight, but the Soviets propped up [Men in suits fighting with swords]

01:28

the failing socialist government.

01:31

Things were downright terrible and out of control. [Soviet soldiers pull the men apart]

01:33

But when the USSR went bankrupt and folded in 1991… everything got even more insane.

01:39

Two regions, Somaliland in Somalia and Eritrea [air-uh-TREE-uh] in Ethiopia, declared independence.

01:47

Islamist movements seized chunks of land in both states. [Islamic man holds a piece of dirt and claims it as his own]

01:50

So the countries were crumbling like old, stale biscuits.

01:54

Without any gravy in sight.

01:56

Ethiopia next launched into a bloody fight for democracy.

01:58

Multiparty elections were eventually held in 1994, and a milder socialist government [Man voting at a polling booth]

02:03

took control.

02:04

But the bad stuff was far from over.

02:07

Islamic terrorism, Christian nationalism, and regional politics did their best to take

02:11

down the new regime.

02:13

So it responded with strict police crackdowns and attacks on freedom of the press. [Police running down a street]

02:16

Then, in 1998, Ethiopia got into a war with Eritrea over a border dispute and both governments

02:22

went bankrupt.

02:23

Oh, and also there was a huge drought. [Man in desert looking for water]

02:25

Well, at least we can’t blame the USSR for that one…

02:29

Despite everything that happened, Ethiopia is still holding it together.

02:33

Sure, it’s got more than its fare share of problems, but it’s still holding elections

02:37

and working as a unified state.

02:40

But Somalia…err…not so much.

02:42

There, several different governments claim to be the true Somali government, and each

02:46

rules its own part of the country.

02:49

Competing socialist, moderate, and Islamist ideologies have caused bloody street clashes. [Two men fighting in the street]

02:54

Different clans, or extended families, have tried to carve out small empires in various

02:58

parts of the country for themselves.

03:00

Continuous war has prevented real development.

03:02

And the increasing poverty and desperation has made Somalia a recruiting ground for terrorists

03:08

and pirates.

03:09

Anyway, colonialism was wrapping up by the time of the Cold War, but Somalia and Ethiopia

03:14

demonstrate how meddling by outside powers was still causing huge problems. [Somalia and Ethiopia both firing guns]

03:19

When the power is a superpower like the US or the USSR, those problems can get, uh…super

03:25

big… [Zombie smashes through a wall and the USSR and US look terrified]

Related Videos

African History 1: Intro
225 Views

Home to the biggest river, the biggest desert, and some of the biggest land animals in the world, Africa is so much more than what most media would...

Modern World History 2.11 French Revolution: Phase Two (and Three)
176 Views

Didn't get enough of the French Revolution the first time around? We've gotcha covered. Check out our second French Revolution video, preferably wi...

Modern World History 1.4 Government Produced Famine in Africa
70 Views

Famine is one of the biggest problems in Africa. Find out why it's such a complex problem, and what's being done to combat it.