HENOK MERHATSIDK 1.pdf - Addis Ababa University

Kenya and Kenya also opened its embassy in Ethiopia. They have peacefully demarcated
their boundaries and established boundary administration commission (Negussay, 1977: 50;
Moi, 2002: 99-105).
The change of government in Ethiopia in 1974 has not hurt the cooperation between the two
countries. Kenya extended its support when Ethiopia was invaded by Somali Army in
1977/78. The presence of USSR in Ethiopia and the adoption of Marxism/ Leninism by the
Ethiopian military regime had not broken the smooth relations of the two states (Chazan, et
al, 1999: 393). The current Ethiopian government also perceives Kenya as a country which
has central role in Ethiopia’s development and security. It strives to establish strong trade
relations with Kenya and to use Kenya as a bridge to connect with Eastern and Southern
Africa region. Kenyan government also views Ethiopia as a dependable ally; they usually
hold the same position in continental and regional affairs (Moi, 2002).
From the above points we can see their common position that the current global conditions
prescribe, the importance of inter- state relations whether the country is poor or rich strong or
weak they all are interconnected via various issues. No single actor can ever address global
problems. States cooperate at regional and global levels in order to conduct their business
without taking into consideration their differences in ideology level of development and the
political system they follow. Climate change, terrorism, world economic crisis among others
has attracted the attentions of world states.
2.2.2. Bilateral Cooperation
Many scholars agree that modern state system is a recent phenomenon despite the presence
of earlier state system. However, these state systems were unstable and limited to certain well
defined areas like Greece, Italy, China, and India; and there were no considerable contacts
between any two areas. From the1648 Treaty of Westphalia on wards modern state system
was established, followed by the Treaty of Utrechet 1713 and the Congress of Vienna in
1815 establishing fundamental tenets of international politics; namely alliances, balance of
power and diplomacy. The establishment of the League of Nations in 1920 and its successor
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