Nation-building is a foundational objective of modern statehood, though many states around the world continue to grapple with challenges. Ethiopia’s efforts throughout its modern political history present a compelling case of structural impediments to its nation-building undertakings. This dissertation investigates the structural factors that have hindered the nation-building undertakings of four successive Ethiopian regimes. Adopting a qualitative approach rooted in a constructivist paradigm, the study utilizes historical analysis and thematic coding to evaluate an extensive array of primary and secondary sources. The findings of this study show that, irrespective of ideological and institutional shifts over the decades, each regime (since the 1930s) consistently leveraged excessive authoritarianism and state coercion to centralize absolute power. This coercion-based state centralization left no space for alternative political voices, driving opposition movements toward armed struggle—a trajectory compounded by a dominant socio-cultural matrix that historically normalizes political violence and consolidates centralized power. Furthermore, the cultivation of a negotiated national identity or shared political vision has been blocked by the absence of consensus among the country’s elite. As such, though it is not the only factor, it consistently yields recurrent domestic conflicts. On a political-economic level, the lack of structural transformation has narrowed the state’s fiscal base. It leaves the country dependent on subsistence agriculture and land resources rigidly controlled by ruling elites to sustain exclusive patron-client networks and systemic corruption. Finally, the study demonstrates that external factors compound Ethiopia's internal challenges; the turbulent geopolitics of the Horn of Africa—characterized by transboundary water disputes, maritime access dilemmas, and superpower rivalries—have served as persistent destabilizing forces. Ultimately, this dissertation concludes that the challenge Ethiopia faces in its quest for peace, stability, and democracy is an interconnected crisis born of centralized authoritarianism, elite discord, economic stagnation, and regional vulnerability. The findings imply that, rather than continued reliance on coercive approaches, more inclusive and accountable political institutions, broader elite consensus, structural economic transformation, and constructive regional engagement are more conducive to sustainable nation-building. Future research could further examine how these interconnected structural challenges interact over time and undertake comparative studies of Ethiopia and other multi-ethnic states to identify institutional pathways that can foster inclusive and sustainable nation-building.