Can Recognizing a Moral Asymmetry Bridge Ethiopia’s Worlds-Apart Historical Narratives?
Ethiopia’s debate over Menelik II reflects far more than disagreement about a ruler’s legacy. It reveals two historical memories occupying the same political space yet interpreting the same events in radically different ways. This essay introduces the concept of moral asymmetry—the unequal ethical weight between disputing a leader’s greatness and denying the suffering experienced by others—and explores whether acknowledging this asymmetry can help narrow Ethiopia’s deeply divided historical narratives.




