Historically, but also more recently, various strains of federalism have sought to be valuable tools for nation-building and managing inter and intra-ethnic conflicts in multiethnic societies. After the overthrow of the Marxist-Leninist military regime in Ethiopia in 1991, the 1995 FDRE (Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia) Constitution established an ethnic-based federal state that fully recognized ethnic autonomy within a unitary state. The new Constitution abolished some long-standing historical territorial administrative units and created new regional states boundaries in their place. The implementation of Ethiopian ethnic-federalism has met with a mixed reaction. The proponents of ethnic federalism, or ethnic-based territorial administrative regions, argue that it provides all the constitutional and democratic principles for which some ethnic-based liberation movements had fought a bitter liberation struggle to achieve. In contrast, the opponents of ethnic federalism argue that it comprises a socialist federation built on a centralist democratic premise. It grants the right of secession for each ethnic group to create their autonomous or independent states. In common with other countries, where such federations have been introduced, instead of peaceful coexistence, ethnic federalism has created new conflicts, aggravated existing conflicts, or, in some instances, endangered Ethiopian unity. Academic debate on the working of ethnic federalism in Ethiopia has focused on delineating ethnic identity, political power contestation, resource competition, and disputed territorial boundaries to explore the nature of ethnic conflicts in Ethiopia. Deploying empirical and qualitative information supported by the case study, this study uses the Amhara National Regional State to investigate whether ethnic federalism has been a cause of, or solution to, ethnic conflicts. The Amhara region has faced inter and intra-regional ethnic-federal boundary grievances, ethnic-based identity politics, representation, and ethnonational mobilization conflicts. The Benishangul-Gumuz neighboring region is a case in point. It has also been affected by intra-regional ethnic identity claims and territorial self-administration conflicts between the Amhara and Kimant people. Therefore, the study examines pertinent intra and inter-ethnic conflicts trends, patterns, and magnitudes in the Amhara region. Keywords: Ethnic-federalism; ethnic-based movements and parties; ethnic conflicts; EPRDF; Amhara region; Ethiopia