J Abbink, The Ethiopian 2nd republic and the fragile 'social contract' (Africa Spectrum, 2009) (original) (raw)
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The Ethiopian Second Republic and the Fragile “Social Contract”
Africa Spectrum
Eighteen years after the change of power and the ushering in of the second Ethiopian republic in 1991, the political process in Ethiopia has, according to most observers, rigidified and largely closed the space for representative democracy. This paper will look at the main organizing political ideas or ideology of the current Ethiopian republic and to the nature of its governance techniques in the face of domestic and international challenges with reference to the debate on “failing” or “fragile” states. The new “social contract” defined after 1991 and codified in the 1994 Constitution is precarious. Dissent and ethno-regional resistance to federal policies are dealt with mainly by coercion and discursive isolation. Oppositional forces voice the need for a rethinking of the organizing ideas and institutions of the second republic in order to enhance political consensus and a shared political arena, but get little response. The paper will sketch an interpretation of governance in Eth...
Respublica Litereria , 2019
Precisely because multiparty elections threaten incumbents with the potential loss of their power, they generate strong incentives for current office-holders to exploit available resources to prevent their replacement by challengers. It proposes itself, and seems within reach, only to evade and appears readily realistic only to resist insight. Ethiopia's democratic challenges augurs on the ideological leanings of the ruling party that dominates politics (100% in parliament), social and economic life, hence, the objective of the study is to analyse its centrally planned developmental state and glean evidence of trajectories that can advances or suppress democracy. The research question undergirds if the 'democratic developmental state can advance democracy. The failure of central planning in socialist countries pointed to government failure as more insidious than the market failure that policies had purportedly been designed to correct. The neo-Weberian critique has focused on the failure of states to establish themselves as rational-legal institutions and to rise above the party apparatchik, regardless of their ideological claims and the moral rectitude of leaders. Its neo-patrimoni-alism hinge is a fusion of the party that wins all elections (legal-rationalism) and absolute dictatorships and monopoly on citizens that have constricted competition, swelled cartels, reared syndicates and chopped business at its bloom. Korea is considered a rare example achieving economic growth with democratisation, while this had had many positive effects, repressive measures dealt suffering on civil society, who fought for and won democratic rights. Ethiopia had an eventful year with PM Abiy, throwing a blowlamp into the heart of society and polity, nerve-wracking the terms of engagement of martial titans and thrown the centre of gravity of politics. The way he deconstructed the power monsters is purely ontological. At Davos, he has tried to re-brand Ethiopia, but, unless the overall nation branding strategy rings true to its and about its people, there is little chance that it will be believed or endorsed by outsiders. The dearth of critical re-examination of ethnicity means Ethiopia is virtually set to be the laboratory for testing it out, irrespective of the lessons of the Soviet and Yugoslav ordeal. Pernicious tribalists cloaked as politicians and rights activists defy reason and derive carnality from sadomasochism, ecstatically oblivious of their deleterious violence-ridden mission. Whether it is ruthlessness or just plain idiocy, such reckless agent provocateurs find it tantalising to waste the intellect of cognoscenti as their emotive cesspool. Abiy has to slug it out with these creatures. 'Conventional approaches to developmental states stress the autonomy of state from society and limit the contingency of social forces seen as affecting developmental strategies. Nevertheless, it is within the reconfigured political space created by democratisation, and shaped by the demands of progressive forces that effected democratisation, that developmental state reform must be situated. Within current projects of political reform, democracy is conventionalised or sterilised on terrain of theory and often vacuously formalised on the ground of practice. It enters politics and society in relatively abstract and plain form, yet is expected to land itself to immediate and vital Ethiopian polity's socio-political experience. Let this stand as a testimony to an open invitation of a renewed commitment to contribute to stemming the tide of famine, displacement and human distress. Nevertheless, unless we bury ethnic politics and state-party dominance, it will submit itself, seems within grasp only to elude, and appears readily doable only to resist fulfilment. Key words: ‘Developmental’ State, Democratic ‘Developmental’ State, Post-Developmental’ State, neo-patrimonial party, Korean miracle, Ethiopia, Abiy,
Between Failure and Redemption - The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract
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The contemporary Ethiopian state is, without question, facing enormous challenges, including the militarization of state and non-state actors, high population density accompanied by youth unemployment, food insecurity, real and perceived inequality and discrimination among ethnic groups, ethnic and political polarization and widespread human rights abuses. At the core of the issues faced by Ethiopia lies the state-building process by which major constituencies and elite groups were either alienated !om, or coopted into, ruling structures. Unable to derive political legitimacy !om democratic participation, successive governments largely relied on coercion and neopatrimonialism, modulated by constitutional narratives and reform efforts including those of the imperial regime’s attempts to regulate government functions by a written constitution, the Derg’s land law reforms and the abolition of the gabar system, and the EPRDF’s recognition and promotion of linguistic and cultural rights. Despite initially promising political, legal, and institutional reform initiatives undertaken by the incumbent regime, Ethiopians remain divided in their views about what kind of constitutional structure has the greatest potential to unify the country without compromising diversity.
Constitutional and Federal Arrangements as Major Sources of Crisis in Ethiopian Politics
Ethiopia, which was one of world civilizations and antiquities, has gone through a number of evolutionary processes in its modern state formation and political architecture. Nevertheless, the long existence of state and government from a distance past has not guaranteed for the existence of democracy, strong institutions and stability in the country till today. This short piece tries to critically analyze the trajectories of political development of Ethiopia since the inception of ethnic-based federal system. It tries to justify why the country is still in a vicious cycle of political turmoil and conflict that has claimed the lives of thousands and adversely affected the socio-economic and political aspects of the state. This study mostly used secondary sources drawn from books, journal articles, newspapers, dissertations and theses, web sources and other documents. The piece has found that the problem of Ethiopia continues to destabilize its existence as a united polity due to systemic and structural incompatibility of the governance system that mostly emanates from its constitutional and federal designs which do not go in line with the interests and demands of the people of the country for accommodation of their diverse nature on the one hand and the promotion of the shared and common values for their integration and unity on the other hand. The author of this piece argues that federalism can be taken as the best governance system for a multicultural state like Ethiopia for reconciling both issues of unity and diversity. It is not because of federalism per se that Ethiopia faces difficulties rather the way the federal system was organized and operated as well as the constitutional framework itself are the impediments for the prevalence of democratic, stable and peaceful Ethiopia under a working federal system. The piece finally prescribes alternative solutions which may be helpful for Ethiopia to uplift itself from the vicious circle of political turmoil and instability. Hence, the piece strongly recommends the necessity of smooth, genuine and peaceful political transition on the basis of fundamental changes in Ethiopia's current constitution and federal arrangement.
African Studies Review, 2003
For more than a decade, reforms designed to liberalise Ethiopia’s economy, decentralise its state, and democratise its politics have sought to reverse a history of centralised autocracy and violent political conflict. Despite important advances, the capacity and the freedom of action of civil society and political opposition remain limited. The current period is critical in terms both of political stability and pluralism, and of pro-poor socio-economic development in Ethiopia. The study advocates an analysis of power that takes account of the political culture, knowledge, and beliefs of Ethiopia’s diverse citizens. The authors argue that involving all Ethiopians in decisions affecting their lives is one of the most significant challenges to socio-political transformation
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“Good governance” has been defined as a necessary condition for (economic) growth and development not only in in developing world but also in the wealthier, developed nations. This paper seeks to sociologically explore the articulation of the ideology of good governance of the post-1991 Ethiopian federal state with versions of legitimate authority, just rule, accountability, economic fairness, etc. with reference to some local ethnic societies in Southern Ethiopia. Similarities and differences will be discussed so as to show that the concept of good governance is multi-dimensional and ambivalent, evoking local notions (and expectations) of a just order and the rule of fairness among citizens as well. In the context of Ethiopia, its constant reiteration as a policy aim may thus also have contributed to citizens’ renewed claim-making as well as their rediscovering their own (cultural) notions of just governance.
Political culture in Ethiopia: a balance sheet of post-1991 ethnically-based federalism
The political transition in Ethiopia in 1991 came at a time when there were high hopes among Africans, civil-society organizations, the international community and scholars for processes of democratisation. The process of political change in Ethiopia has been a subject of research at the African Studies Centre (ASC) since the early 1990s as part of a broader project on transformations in politics and society in Africa and how they relate to the global order.