The federal system is based on the constitutional conviction that ethnic groups in ethiopia have the right to self. Federalism in a context of extreme ethnic pluralism. Violence in the country significantly increased and spread to new areas, and four times as many people were displaced as in the previous year. Federalism and party politics in ethiopia download ebook. Ethnic federalism and its discontents crisis group africa report n153, 4 september 2009 page 2 ii.
This apparent empowerment of ethnicity represents a complete. Harari is also commonly written in latin outside of ethiopia. Among these are the power to choose its own working language, the. This country profile is a reference work, analysing the countrys history, politics, infrastructure and economy. Ethiopian peoples revolutionary democratic front wikipedia. Exploring the experience of the house of federation hof assefa fiseha, dr. This study is a qualitative research that employed both primary and secondary sources. During the ethiopian civil war, the eprdf was a rebel group battling the derg, a military regime led by mengistu haile mariam that was effectively in power from 1974 until it was replaced by the peoples democratic republic of ethiopia in 1987.
The idea of ethnicity was tied to the claims that national oppression has existed in ethiopia and that the tigrean ethnic. The imperial period 1974 ethiopia is the only african state never colonised by a foreign power. Another was drafted in 1974 in the early stages of the revolution, but it was ignored and shelved by the derg military council which took over power later that year. Click download or read online button to get federalism and party politics in ethiopia book now.
Ethiopia s ancient system of feudal government experienced significant changes under haile selassie i reigned 193074, who carefully grafted onto the traditional governing institutions a weak parliament of appointed and elected legislators, a judiciary with modernized civil and criminal codes and a hierarchy of courts, and an executive. Ethiopia figure analysis displacement related to conflict and violence context ethiopia experienced the highest number of new displacements related to conflict and violence in the world in 2018. There is growing concern that ethiopia s prime minister has failed to address rising ethnic tensions and violence. The government of ethiopia, and all political parties represented within that government, have to do their level best to address the root causes of ethnic extremism, as well as engage all parties in dialogue to diffuse tensions that appear in the country on the basis of ethnic identity. The ethnic federalization of the post1991 ethiopia and the subsequent adoption of developmental state paradigm are the two most important pillars for the countrys political and economic. These include ethnicity, vanguard leadership, and a statist economy. The ethiopian peoples revolutionary democratic front eprdf. The current regime of ethiopia eprdf implemented ethnic federalism and reshaped the state along ethnic lines as soon as it assumes political power in 1991. During a court session in december 2017, inmates criticized the report for.
This multiplicity in language, religion, culture, tradition and the overall identity is actually a beauty for the country considering the fact that the peoples of ethiopia have had the culture of living together without any narrowly and shallowlyfocused ethnic belongingness. Click download or read online button to get ethiopia and the state of democracy book now. Where applicable, decision makers must refer to the country policy and information note on ethiopia. How ethnic violence is destabilising ethiopias reform gains. This study deals with ethnicity and inter ethnic relations in african context, with particular emphasis on the new ethiopian experiment of ethnic politics. A means to an end daniel abebe the university of chicago law school draft prepared for conference from parchment to practice. The eprdfs strength and legitimacy derives from its inclusion of representatives from all of ethiopias major ethnic groups. Tplfs minority ethnic monopoly of the armed forces in. Pdf federalism and powersharing in ethiopia kaleab. Constitution of the federal democratic republic of ethiopia. The other important issue that is rampant in ethiopia is the issue of ethnic boundary. Most of its people speak an ethiosemitic or cushitic language which are both part of the afroasiatic language family, while others speak nilosaharan languages.
A comparative study by tewodros yalew submitted to central european university department of political science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of arts. Their sovereignty shall be expressed through their representatives elected in accordance with this constitution and through their direct democratic participation article 9 supremacy of the. Ethnicity, democratisation and decentralization in. In contrast to those regions where a single titular group. Today, federal political systems are increasingly used by states with a multiethnic population as a mechanism to accommodate the demands of their ethnic groups as well as to protect their territorial integrity. Ethiopia s prime minister abiy ahmed has introduced dramatic reforms since assuming power more than nine months ago.
Ethnicity and constitutionalism in contemporary ethiopia. The eprdf is a coalition of ethnic political movements, dominated by the tigray peoples liberation front. The problem in ethiopia has historically not been limited to the excessive centralisation of power in the capital, but has also centred on the question of cultural marginalisation, assimilation. There is not any one ethnic group that claims to be in a majority position at the federal national level. Conflict and state security in the horn of africa 43 1981 to resist authoritarianism and brutality against the deprived people. When the current government came to power in 1991, reconfigured the country into different states based on ethnic dimension of diversity semela, 2014. Mapping power and ethnicity in the federal democratic republic 182. Today, federalism is increasingly suggested and applied as a politicalconstitutional mechanism to accommodate ethnic pluralism. Journal of eastern african studies ethnicbased federalism and. Thus, the eprdf that assumed power in may 1991 after its protracted 17 year armed insurgency undertaken the reconstruction of the ethiopian state. Revolutionary democratic front african politics by adopting an ethnicbased federal eprdf. A closer look at the nature of the perennial struggles for the remaking of ethiopia, clearly shows the centrality of the competing ethnic nationalists claims for an equitable share of power and resources under the command of the state merera 2002.
However, these pledges were not translated into practice. Ethiopia will explode if it doesnt move beyond ethnic based politics. Implementing new constitutions october 14, 2017 draft please do not cite or distribute i. System of division of revenue in ethiopia alefe abeje belay lecturer, bahir dar university, ethiopia abstract in addressing the issue of the allocation of revenue raising powers, the main question is the taxation power distributed between the tiers of government in a federal system. Ethiopia ethiopia the rise and reign of haile selassie i 191674. Since its inception in 1975, some concepts have remained constant for the tplf.
Drivers of ethnic conflict in contemporary ethiopia. Abate mammo, a demographer, deflated the false sense of demographic reality in his article, population distribution in ethiopia. This book provides a detailed empirical study of this system at work in the complex multiethnic environment of southern ethiopia. Peoples region the case of ethiopias southern nations. The question then is, why has ethnic based1 violence spiralled especially since. Ethiopia and the state of democracy download ebook pdf. Soon after the coalition came together, it introduced an ethnic federal system of governance to try and address historic ethnic grievances by giving ethiopia s different regions the chance to. Inequalities on the basis of gender, ethnicity, social class and many other factors affect the lives of many people in a country that is as diverse as ethiopia and features more than 90 ethnic and linguistic groups. The sidama and the wolayta published on 01 jan 2011 by brill. At the same time, ethnic federalism is preferred to the forced integration of different ethnic groups, the attendant suppression of group rights, and the absence of ethnocultural justice, all of which will lead to ethnic conflict and, of course, the dissolution of ethiopia.
In most cases, they have ethnic overtones or involve ethnic groups. The state administration constitutes the highest organ of executive power. The failure of the opposition to fill the power vacuum left behind by siad barre after his flight into exile in 1991 marked the beginning of disintegration of somalia. The politics of ethnicity in ethiopia actors, power and mobilisation. Ethiopia as most studies that examined the use of health services had primarily focused on adults 6. A national study conducted by moh on selected urban areas of ethiopia oromia, amahara, southern people and tigray howed s that youth couldnt properly utilize the available health service 7. Ethiopia s population is highly diverse with different languages and ethnic groups. So, ethiopia experienced two major transitions in the course of the last five decades that are central to understanding the state of democracy and marketbased economy in ethiopia today.
Ethnic federalism and its discontents the web site. History and ideology 57 selfadministration through regional autonomy. Consistent with the provisions of this constitution, the council has power to draft, adopt and amend the state constitution. Oromo nationalism helped bring abiy ahmed to power, but it could also be his undoing. Outside of shewa, menelik and his generals extended the war of conquest to the west, east and south. Using comparative and empirical approaches, this study analyses the impacts of federalism on ethnic conflicts in ethiopia in general and in the somali and benishangulgumuz regions in particular. Ethiopia is politically organised in a system of ethnic federalism, under which the country is divided into ethnicallydefined regions and zones. The economist intelligence units country reports analyse current trends and provide a twoyear forecast. As ethiopia has not so far allowed open contestation for power, it is difficult to tell the. Ethiopia must abandon ethnic politics or it will explode. The demographics of ethiopia encompass the demographic features of ethiopia s inhabitants, including ethnicity, languages, population density, education level, health, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population. The regime transformed the hitherto centralised state into the federal democratic republic and also redefined.
Social groups may also compete among themselves in the definition of their respective identities and in their attempts to impose their visions of integration and development on society. The politics of ethnicity in ethiopia actors, power and. Drinking, rumour, and ethnicity in jimma, ethiopia africa. The limits of institutions in multiethnic societies published on 01 jan 2011 by brill. Issues of minority rights in the ethiopian federation by taking the objective, subjective and the combination of both criteria of defining minorities, ethiopia is a land of minorities.
In association with state formation, new constitution was also promulgated in 1995. D these days ethnicity is much talked issues in the contemporary world, especially in the third world, so called underdeveloped countries by developed western countries. Ethnic politics in ethiopia and the church publish your. Tplfs minority ethnic monopoly of the armed forces in ethiopia a revisit after four years oct 06, 2014 the monopoly of key government decision making positions in ethiopia by individuals of one ethnic group, the tplf led tigrean elite, over the past twenty three years has never had. Constitutional protection of ethnic minorities at the regional level it is argued that in order to evaluate the capacity of the ethiopian federal structure to accommodate ethnic diversity and to regulate ethnic conflicts, the research cannot be limited to an analysis of the constitutional mechanisms at the federal level. It enshrines diversity issues as the government shall have the duty to support, on the. In general, the research findings show that although federalism either in ethnic or other forms has been implemented as a system for state building in ethiopia and nigeria, still there are. Download pdf political parties in ethiopia free online. The eprdfs ethnic federalism has not dampened con flict, but rather increased. This was partly because ethiopia s political and economic model differs significantly from the framework of the liberal peacebuilding agenda. The constitution grants important competences to the regional states.
It traces its origin to the kingdoms that emerged in the northern highlands in the fourth century. Today, federal political systems are increasingly used by states with a multi ethnic population as a mechanism to accommodate the demands of their ethnic groups as well as to protect their territorial integrity. Ethiopias ethnic violence history with oromos, amharas. But as ethnic clashes flare, the changes may not be enough to stabilize the nation. Click download or read online button to political parties in ethiopia book pdf for free now. Ethnicity and power in ethiopia edinburgh research archive the. This paper is an investigation of the relationship between identity, politics, and rumours in jimma, ethiopia. Place of diversity in the current ethiopian education and. Ethiopia is implementing a radical programme of decentralising state power to ethnic.
Ethnicity and power in ethiopia john young ethiopia is implementing a radical programme of decentralising state power to ethnicbased regional units, which could be of interest to other countries in africa faced with demands of ethnic communities for a greater role in the state. The one prominent exception is ethiopia, which since 1991 has imposed a system of ethnicbased federalism that offers each ethnic group the right of selfdetermination. Therefore, the ethnic groups of ethiopia are constitu tionally coupled to specific regional states and it is within and through these states that they exercise their right to selfdetermination. Political parties in ethiopia download political parties in ethiopia ebook pdf or read online books in pdf, epub, and mobi format. During this period, the derg was responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of opponents without trial in the qey shibir and the 1983. Ethnic federalism and its discontents executive summary the ethiopian peoples revolutionary democratic front eprdf, led by its chairman and prime minister, meles zenawi, has radically reformed ethiopia s political system. Ethnicity, democratisation and decentralization in ethiopia 85 while using naked force to suppress the same demands on the other. If ethnicity is manufactured at will and manipulated to serve any number of selfish purposes, then it is only an object, the case for calling it a cause of the numerous problems regularly attributed to it would not be sustainable. Ethnicity and power in ethiopia edinburgh research archive. Federalism and the accommodation of ethnic diversity core.
So far, ethiopia has conducted two decennial national censusesin 1984 and again in 1994. Federalism and the accommodation of ethnic diversity. The introduction of ethnic federalism in ethiopia after the fall of the marxist derg regime in 1991 has been the topic of a significant amount of academic discussion, but little attention has been given to the daytoday experience of this change. Whatever the merits of ethnic federalism, there is no doubt that ethnicity had by 1991 long become a significant factor in shaping many if not most of the various power struggles waged by armed liberation movements in different parts of ethiopia, and was understood as such, at least by their active and elite participants. Ethnicity and power in ethiopia john young ethiopia is implementing a radical programme of decentralising state power to ethnic based regional units, which could be of interest to other countries in africa faced with demands of ethnic communities for a greater role in the state. Since it was considered unseemly for a woman to serve in her own right, ras tafari, the son of ras makonnen and a cousin of menilek, served as zauditus regent and heir apparent. The study investigated the practice of ethnic federal system along with ethnic rights to selfdetermination and associated conflicts in the context of southern regional state of ethiopia. The eprdfs strength and legitimacy derives from its inclusion of representatives from all of ethiopia s major ethnic groups. Issues of minority rights in the ethiopian federation. The historical trajectories of local ethnic polities. Evil days 30 years of war and famine in ethiopia an africa watch report september 1991 485 fifth avenue new york, ny 100176104 tel.
Tplf which fought a sixteen year war against the derg. Ethnic federal system and conflict in the post1995. Opposition to the government which provides more detail on the political context and treatment of. Ethiopia is one of ethnically diverse nations in the world. Actors, power and mobiliza tion under ethnic federalism, is made up of a laconic preface, eight. Tplfs minority ethnic monopoly of the armed forces in ethiopia a revisit after four years oct 06, 2014 the monopoly of key government decision making positions in ethiopia by individuals of one ethnic group, the tplf led tigrean elite, over the past twenty three years has never had precedence in ethiopian history. Pdf this thesis explores why ethnicity was introduced as the basis for the reconstitution of the ethiopian state in 1991, examining the. Most harari people are bilingual in amharic and oromo, both of which are also afroasiatic languages. All sovereign power resides in the nations, nationalities and peoples of ethiopia. Most governments in africa, seeing the political mobilisation of ethnicity as a threat, have rejected the use of ethnic differences as.
This constitution is an expression of their sovereignty. Perpetuating power cru report, september 2016 on a final note, it should be noted that this research proved to be a difficult endeavour. The case of ethnicbased federalism in ethiopia journal of. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. Most governments in africa, seeing the political mobilisation of ethnicity as a threat, have rejected the use of ethnic differences as an explicit basis for political representation. In almost all cases, the displacement was triggered by conflict between different ethnic groups over access to political power or scarce resources such as water and pastoral or agricultural land. Here, a point that should not be missed in any intellectual venture to understand ethnicity is the paradox that surrounds identity politics. However, this had brought the national questions as the politicoideological agenda by the. Pdf an integrated approach to the study of ethnicity and. Despite the evolution of multiethnic ethiopia by territorial conquest, successive feudal regimes were embarked on hegemonic project of building a nationstate. The study challenges the already existing thoughts on ethnicity, which map the concept on contours of polar extremes.
The 1974 revolution transformed what was almost a medieval empire into a highly centralized. A comparative study by tewodros yalew submitted to central european university department of political science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of arts supervisor prof. Ethiopia the rise and reign of haile selassie i 191674. The planned 2004 census has unfortunately been postponed.
The coercive and developmental imperatives of the state that guided its implementation. The oromo, amhara, somali and tigrayans make up more than threequarters 75% of the population, but there are more than 80 different ethnic groups. The 1994 ethiopian census indicates that there were 21,757 harari speakers. Ethiopia adopted ethnic federalism and restructured the regions along ethnic. Utilization of youth reproductive health services and.
Ethnic federalism in ethiopia offered the prospect of a shift away from the high modernism of that states past projects to develop its people, apparently in. Federalism was introduced in ethiopia in 1991 when the ethiopian peoples revolutionary democratic front eprdf came to power and launched the idea of selfdetermination for the nationalities, up to and including secession, devolving political, administrative and economic power to ethnically defined regional states. Personal identity as well as cultural identity ethnic identity always materialise in relation to somebody else. Introduction much has been written about ethiopia s twentythree year experiment with ethnic. Although ethiopia is not new to ethnic based conflicts, their scale and intensity in the short time since prime minister abiy ahmed alis rise to power has been alarming. Ethnicity and the state in eastern africa edited by m. Tplfs minority ethnic monopoly of the armed forces in ethiopia. Standards and indicators for cultural competence in social work practice national association of social workers prabro25315. About 20,000 of these individuals were concentrated outside harar, in ethiopia s capital addis ababa. Actors, power and mobilization under ethnic federalism, e. The one prominent exception is ethiopia, which since 1991 has imposed a system of ethnic based federalism that offers each ethnic group the right of selfdetermination. Ethnic federalism in ethiopia offered the prospect of a shift away from the high modernism of that states past projects to develop its people, apparently in favour of the collective perspectives of groups of its citizens. Ethnicity, democratisation and decentralization in ethiopia 87. Jul 28, 2009 it was the fourth ethiopian constitution promulgated for the last 65 years.
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