The Ethiopian experiment stands out among the burgeoning Afro-Marxist states which have sprung up since about 1976. Its uniqueness does not lie in the fact that the revolution which spawned it had its roots in historic feudalism (although this has given it a somewhat unique character), nor does its uniqueness result from being an uncommon example of an attempt to build a state socialist society in the Third World. There are others-among them Viet Nam, Cuba, Benin, Angola, and Mozambique (Young, 1982; Ottaway and Ottaway, 1981). In fact with the decline of the Soviet Union's ability to impose ideological conformity on its clients and allies in the post-World War II era, Third World states have found it increasingly easy to adapt the Marxist-Leninist model devised by the Soviets to fit their own countries' objective conditions as they interpret them. Furthermore, the Ethiopia experiment is not any more successful than other such experiments in the Third World.

Ethiopia's efforts to build a new socialist society are primarily of interest because it seems to be moving toward state socialism despite the architects of this transformation viewing this process more as a means to an end than as an end in itself. The higher goal is clearly the legitimation of the vanguard role of the “men in uniform.” The priority assigned to maintaining a central role in the revolution for elements of the military is evidenced in the manner in which the long-promised vanguard party of workers, peasants, and revolutionary intellectuals was formed between 1979 and 1984.