• DOI:10.1353/NAS.2007.0009
• Corpus ID: 144274717

A Nation without a City [a Blind Person without a Cane]: The Oromo Struggle for Addis Ababa

@article{Benti2007ANW,
  title={A Nation without a City [a Blind Person without a Cane]: The Oromo Struggle for Addis Ababa},
  author={Getahun Mitiku Benti},
  journal={Northeast African Studies},
  year={2007},
  volume={9},
  pages={115 - 131}
}

• G. Benti
• Published 1 October 2007
• History
• Northeast African Studies

Scholars of various disciplines have underlined that the emergence of cities is one of the most important turning points in history1 and humankind's achievement that qualitatively changed human society.2 Throughout their long existence, cities have changed in form and scale. In the course of time, they have become centers for "control and coordination of the surrounding areas" by means of "specialized organization, extensive lines of communication, accumulation of wealth, diverse populations, change, and complexity in short, civilization."3 Cities have played crucial roles in social, economic, political, and cultural transformations; they have served as centers of change and progress throughout history, a role that they are likely to continue in the future.4 Explaining the role of cities in history, Charles Tilly has affirmed that "Cities are special kinds of communities in which the coordination and control of widely dispersed activities take place."5 Raymond W. Mack and Dennis C. McElrath have also noted that "the city is the home of workers whose major functions involve coordinating and controlling wide-ranging economic, political, military, and religious activities."6 Likewise, Bert F. Hoselitz has pointed out that, without "an urban climate, it is difficult for commerce, financial institutions, industrial establishments, governmental bureaucracies, and advanced educational and intellectual infrastructures to develop and flourish."7