| List of maps and tables | |
| Acknowledgments | |
| List of abbreviations | |
| 1 | The background to the emergence of the structural crisis | 1 |
| Pt. I | The Collapse of the Old-State (January-November 1974) | |
| 2 | The urban uprising of January to June 1974 | 37 |
| 3 | The turning of an urban movement into a junta dictatorship | 60 |
| Pt. II | The Formative Years of the Post-revolutionary Order (December 1974-February 1977) | |
| 4 | The socio-economic reforms of 1975 | 85 |
| 5 | The upsurge of political organizations | 123 |
| 6 | Scientific socialism and the structure of the government | 156 |
| 7 | From a junta to an autocratic dictatorship | 173 |
| Pt. III | Consolidation of Power (February 1977-September 1987) | |
| 8 | The elimination of internal and external threats to Mengistu's power | 205 |
| 9 | The formation of the Workers' Party of Ethiopia | 227 |
| 10 | The formalization of power through the 1987 constitution: 'organizational operation' in action | 265 |
| 11 | Conclusion | 299 |
| Postscript | 344 |
| Appendix: chronology of events | 378 |
| Notes | 384 |
| Bibliography | 418 |
| Index | 425 |