The Ethnopolitics Of Ethnofederalism In Ethiopia

Ethiopia is the darling of development economists: since 2005, the country’s economic growth rate has consistently been over the 10% mark. Ethiopia is also a regional superpower with political influence across East Africa and the Horn. Furthermore, the African Union has its headquarters in the capital Addis Ababa, which further underscores the country’s growing international profile. On top of everything, since 1995 Ethiopia has a federal constitution explicitly committed to granting political autonomy to all ethnic groups within the country. Ethiopia’s federalism has also direct relevance to the country’s neighbours, Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya, South Sudan, and Djibouti who have ethnic kin across the borders with Ethiopia. Yet, despite the generous promises to the country’s ethnic groups stated in the constitution, not everything is well. As marked by the recent unrest throughout various regions of the country, the federal constitution’s promises and the reality do not always perfectly align. But there is a shortage of even-handed scholarly analyses of this complex country, and in particular, its unique federal system. Based on chapters focusing on different parts of the federal system, the collection takes stock of the last 20 years and distils lessons and insights for a broader international/comparative readership. The chapters originally published in Ethnopolitics and Regional & Federal Studies.

Since 1991, Ethiopia has gone further than any other country in using ethnicity as the fundamental organizing principle of a federal system of government. And yet this pioneering experiment in 'ethnic federalism' has been largely ignored in the growing literature on democratization and ethnicity in Africa and on the accommodation of ethnic diversity in democratic states. Apart from giving close examination to aspects of the Ethiopian case, the book asks why the use of territorial decentralization to accommodate ethnic differences has been generally unpopular in Africa, while it is growing in popularity in the West. The book includes case studies of Nigerian and Indian federalism and suggests how Ethiopia might learn from both the failures and successes of these older federations. In the light of these broader issues and cases, it identifies the main challenges facing Ethiopia over the next few years, as it struggles to bring political practice into line with constitutional theory, and thereby achieve a genuinely federal division of powers. North America: Ohio U Press; Ethiopia: Addis Ababa U Press

This book examines the impact of the federal restructuring of Ethiopia on ethnic conflicts. The adoption of ethnic federalism in Ethiopia was closely related with the problem of creating a state structure that could be used as instrument of managing the complex ethno-linguistic diversity of the country. Ethiopia is a multinational country with about 85 ethno-linguistic groups and since the 1960s, it suffered from ethno-regional conflicts. The book considers multiple governance and state factors that could explain the difficulties Ethiopian federalism faces to realise its objectives. These include lack of political pluralism and the use of ethnicity as the sole instrument of state organisation. Federalism and Ethnic Conflict in Ethiopia will be of interest to students and scholars of federal studies, ethnic conflict and regionalism.

Ethiopia’s unique system of ethnic-based federalism claims to minimise conflict by organising political power along ethnic lines. This empirical study shows that the system eases conflict at some levels but also sharpens inter-ethnic and intra-ethnic divides on the ground.

This book argues that the development of federalism in Ethiopia fits in with a global trend towards increased attention to ethnic minority rights and to federalism as a mechanism for ethnic conflict prevention and management. The Ethiopian federation is designed as a framework within which the Ethiopian ethnic groups can protect their rights and within which they are stimulated to develop a cooperative relationship. To put it differently, the constitutional objective of the federal structure is the creation of 'unity in diversity.' The book evaluates the capacity of Ethiopian federalism to achieve this objective by investigating the relevant historical, political, and legal aspects. (Series: Recht und Politik in Afrika/Law and Politics in Africa - Vol. 10)

This book investigates the role of ethnic federalism in Ethiopian politics, reflecting on a long history of division amongst the country’s political elites. The book argues that these patterns have enabled the resilience and survival of authoritarianism in the country, and have led to the failure of democratization. Ethnic conflict in Ethiopia stretches back to the country’s imperial history. Competing nationalisms begin to emerge towards the end of the imperial era, but were formalized by the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) from the 1990s onwards. Under the EPRDF, ethnicity and language classifications formed the main organizing principles for political parties and organizations, and the country’s new federal arrangement was also designed along ethnic fault lines. This book argues that this ethnic federal arrangement, and the continuation of an elite political culture are major factors in explaining the continuation of authoritarianism in Ethiopia. Focusing largely on the last 27 years under the EPRDF and on the political changes of the last few years, but also stretching back to historical narratives of ethnic grievances and division, this book is an important guide to the ethnic politics of Ethiopia and will be of interest to researchers of African politics, authoritarianism and ethnic conflict.

After the collapse of the military regime in 1991, Ethiopia's successor state, which is led by the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), has been faced with the task of putting democratic ideals into practice under conditions of great economic scarcity.

A broad examination of the rise of nationalism, populism, xenophobia, and racism throughout the world The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Race, Ethnicity, and Nationalism provides expert insight into the complex, interconnected factors that are influencing patterns of human relations worldwide in a time of rising populist nationalism, intensified racial and religious tensions, and mounting hostilities towards immigrants and minorities. Analyzing the underlying forces which continue to drive global trends, this volume examines contemporary patterns based on the most recent evidence spanning five continents—offering a diversity of interpretations, models and perspectives that address the challenges facing the study of race, ethnicity, and nationalism. The Companion features original contributions by both established experts and emerging scholars that explore an expansive range of theoretical, historical, and empirical case studies. Organized into five sections, the text first discusses growing trends in the United States, the significance of populism in major societies around the globe, and how global changes are influencing regional variations in race, ethnicity, and nationalism. An investigation of global migration patterns is followed by examination of conflict and violence, from urban riots and boundary disputes to warfare and genocide. The final section focuses on the policy debates resulting from changing patterns and their impact on politics, the economy, and society. Timely and highly relevant, this book: Discusses contemporary issues such as the failure of school systems to provide equal opportunities to minorities, the evolution of the School-to-Prison pipeline, and the Black Lives Matter movement Explores shifts in American race relations, the influence of social media and the internet, and the links between increased globalization and contemporary forms of nationalism, racism, and populism Features essays on national and ethnic identity in China, Japan, and South Korea, India, Central Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe Analyzes policies regarding borders, immigration, refugees, and human rights in different countries and regions Offers perspectives on the radicalization of social movements, the creation of ethnic, linguistic and other boundaries between groups, and the models used to understand intractable conflicts in many global settings The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Race, Ethnicity, and Nationalism is an indispensable resource for scholars, researchers, instructors, and students across the social sciences, including sociology, political science, global affairs, economics, comparative race and ethnic relations, international migration, social change, and sociological theory.

Following seventeen years of a protracted civil war that ended in 1991, constitutional devolution of political power along ethno-linguistic lines has been underway in Ethiopia. This mode of devolving power to the various tiers of government is generally referred to as ethnic (or ethnic-based) federalism. It has been a unique and quite controversial way of restructuring the state. Nevertheless, what makes it more contentious is that the federal constitution does not only devolve political powers along ethno-linguistic lines but it also incorporates "the right to self-determination up to and including secession" as its fundamental precept. This book examines and analyzes why ethnic federalism is adopted in Ethiopia, and explores how and in what ways this type of federal arrangement could be linked to issues of peace and conflict. To this end, the book, based on the ongoing experiment in Ethiopia, delves deep into the debates, risks and opportunities associated with ethnic federalism. This book can serve as a brief reference for those wishing to know about the 'what', 'why' and 'how' of Ethiopia's ethnic-based federalism.