More over the challenge this mode of federalism encumbers ethiopia with and the opportunities it is pregnant with are hoped to be identified with a view to see. According to articles 1 and 47 of the constitution of the federal democratic republic of ethiopia, the country is a federation of nine ethnolinguistically divided regional states. Oct 18, 2017 ethiopia has 99 problems but ethnic federalism is the least of them. Managing ethiopias political crisis africa al jazeera. Managing ethiopias current political crisis requires going beyond democratic reform and instead thinking about the political economy and institutions that shape elite competition along ethnic. Pdf the original sin of ethiopian federalism researchgate. Ethnic federalism has been exploited to plant division among ethnic groups so as to institutionalize and facilitate rule by the tplf and other politically affiliated groups, representing a small proportion of the population. This type of federation is identified above all with the governance of meles zenawi from the 1990s in ethiopia, where it has sometimes been known as zenawism. The aim of this article is to examine the prevalence of ethnic conflict in ethiopia and to. This study is applicable in mogadishu, somalia, because there are many challenges and opportunities for federalism in mogadishu, somalia at this moment.
Ethnic federalism in ethiopia challanges and opportunities. Against the backdrop of its recent political and legitimate history. Weaknesses of ethnic federalism in ethiopia siraw megibaru temesgen abstract. From this point of view it describes the main types of modern federal state. Farah is currently doing his llm degree, writing his thesis on the oil and gas law, at the university of maine school of law in portland, maine, usa. Perceptions of ethnic federalism and the ethiopian. As challenges to ethiopian federalism some points can be mentioned. Thus, one can say that the ethiopian federal system has, in general, ethiopia has not disintegrated as many feared when the idea of selfdetermination and federalism was introduced. Introduction much has been written about ethiopias twentythree year experiment with ethnic. It traces its origin to the kingdoms that emerged in the northern highlands in the fourth century.
We have a democratic republic where individuals are elected by the citizenry to make decisions for the good of the whole. Therefore, it seems useful to examine what challenges federalism must face. Related terms are multiethnic federalism and ethnofederalism. Federalism as an instrument of balancing the tension between universalism and particularism has drawn more attention in pluralistic societies. Federalism is increasingly promoted and utilized in multiethnic countries as a means to guarantee minority rights and safeguard the harmony and integrity of the polity and state. Erato kozakoumarcoullis former minister of foreign affairs at the roundtable discussion organized by the european parliament office in cyprus. The institutionalized protection of ethnic minorities in ethiopia could therefore gain international approval and secure exterior. Thus, it provides the opportunity for ethnic groups to frame their status on their. An explosive mix of international, national and local. The constitution thus misses an opportunity to respond to ethnic concerns. Since, there were more than 17 ethnic based armed forces fighting against domination even before the adaptation of the current system. Multinational federalism is the only option for ethiopia.
Opportunities, faculty of law, university of lund master thesis. Concepts and theories 25 of treaties and the coining of money is independent of the government of the associated states, and, on the other hand, state governments which in certain matters are, in their turn, independent of the general government. Federalism is increasingly promoted and utilized in multi ethnic countries as a means to guarantee minority rights and safeguard the harmony and integrity of the polity and state. The imperial period 1974 ethiopia is the only african state never colonised by a foreign power. The twentieth century ethiopian elites, participating in the allethiopia socialist movement meison and the ethiopian peoples revolutionary party eprp, viewed the problems in ethiopia as a result of class conflicts and not as an outcome of struggles between ethnic groups aalen 2002. Since its inception, ethiopia s ethnic federalism has been the subject of heated debate among various political organizations in the country, as well as among observers and scholars both in and. In ethiopia, however, ethno linguistic identities were already deeply imprinted before the adoption of ethnolinguistic federalism in 1994, as a result of the ethnolinguistic domination that had existed for so long. For this reason, the following analysis has been fortified. To do this, strong good governance and democratic institutions are very important. Ethnic federalism and its discontents crisis group africa report n153, 4 september 2009 page ii furthermore, ethnic federalism has failed to resolve the national question. Abstract the study of federalism has attracted scholars of various fields for a long time.
What are the challenges and opportunities of federalism in mogadishu, somalia. Federalism and the ethiopian constitution bekele berhanu march 19, 2019. Challenges and opportunities abstract the study analyses the role of federalism in solving the national and ethnic conflicts. Past experiences witnessed that ethiopia has achieved a strong unity through diversity.
The choice of ethiopia as a case study is in no way meant to suggest. Ethnic federalism has been exploited to plant division among ethnic groups. Ethnic federalism in ethiopia challanges and opportunities abate, nikodimos department of law. I, berhanu zeleke gobaw, declare that challenges and opportunities of development in ethiopia through urbanrural economic linkages urels is my own original work and this work has not submitted before for any other degree at any unisa for another qualification or at any other higher education institution. Weaknesses of ethnic federalism in ethiopia ijhssi.
East lansing, michigan, march 2224, 2019 in exploring the challenges and opportunities to transition to constitutional democracy in ethiopia, it is. Challenges and opportunities of federalism in mogadishu. A means for managing or a triggering factor for ethnic conflicts in ethiopia. Challenges and opportunities of federalism in mogadishu, somalia. It is deviced with a motive and intention widely believed as to promote diversity and polarization, a sort of divide and rule, not to accommodate and recognize diversity and unity, for the interest of minority pol. Is ethnic federalism really the biggest problem in ethiopia. Ethiopia is also the major contributor more than 86 per cent of the abay nile river, upon which life in egypt and the sudan mainly depends. Ethnic federalism in ethiopia abstract in 1991 ethiopia established an ethnic federal system that gave full recognition to ethnic autonomy, while maintaining the unity of the state. Aug 04, 2015 thus here, one can firmly conclude that ethnic federalism in ethiopia has had different implications as far as managing the multi ethnic nature of the country. According to ottaway, political activists believed that ethnic federalism in ethiopia was a recipe for state disintegration 12. The current federalism system differs from attempts during the emperor and the military rules because it maintains the basis of ethnic federalism as well as cultural, language and political autonomy at regional levels. Suggesting solutions to problems of ethnic federalism in. Ethiopia boasts a landscape of extraordinary beauty and varied climatic conditions. Hence, the argument that the introduction of the federalism system created new ethnic based conflicts in ethiopia does not hold water.
The regime transformed the hitherto centralised state into the federal democratic republic and also redefined citizenship, politics and identity on ethnic grounds. Draft ethiopia ethnic federalism university of chicago law. Its new constitution created a federal system largely consisting of ethnic based territorial units. Related terms are multi ethnic federalism and ethnofederalism. Aregawi berhe introduction ethnic federalism is certainly a new system of governance in ethiopia, where a unitary structure was the. The ethiopian peoples revolutionary democratic front eprdf, led by its chairman and prime minister, meles zenawi, has radically reformed ethiopias political system. Ethnicbased federalism in ethiopia and its impact on national integration. Consistent with its mission, vision ethiopia creates unhindered forums for scholars, professionals and concerned ethiopians to present their carefully thought policy alternatives for ethiopia. Actors, power and mobiliza tion under ethnic federalism, is made up of a laconic. From this point of view it describes the main types of. Federalism, local government and minority protection in.
This chapter aims at providing a general background about the politics of. Pdf ethnicbased federalism in ethiopia and its impact on. Its cultures, diversity and religions form a microcosm of africa. He uses two recent events to illustrate the supposed dangers posed by ethnic federalism. Presented to the faculty of economics and social science. Data available as of 19971998 were used to conduct this analysis. Actors, power and mobilization under ethnic federalism, e.
Usa, frg, multiethnic switzerland, presentday russia and multinational forms former. The current regime in ethiopia adopted ethnic federalism and redesigned the country along ethnic lines as soon as it took political power in 1991. Before proceeding to suggesting solutions i find it important to clarify misunderstandings on the goals and functions of ethnic federalism and decentralization in ethiopia. The purpose of this study was to describe the impacts of ethiopias ethnicbased federalism on its diaspora residing in a.
In fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of. Implementing new constitutions october 14, 2017 draft please do not cite or distribute i. A means to an end daniel abebe the university of chicago law school draft prepared for conference from parchment to practice. Ethiopia has 99 problems but ethnic federalism is the least of them.
They considered that ethiopian ethnic federalism was innovative, giving room for thinking differently about ethnicity in the political evolution of africa 10, some others also said that constitutional appreciation and recognition. Research context the numbers of people in mogadishu is estimated at 2. More recently, some quarters have been posing multiple threats to the over two decades old federal system in ethiopia through instigating violence and fomenting unrest in some parts of the country. Addis abeba, apr 21 prensa latina with about 76 ethnic groups, ethiopia is based in a federal system that strengthens the shared identity and the social capital, underlined today local academicians. Thus here, one can firmly conclude that ethnic federalism in ethiopia has had different implications as far as managing the multiethnic nature of the country. Accordingly, the research has established that the post 1991 ethnic conflicts in ethiopia consisted of multifaceted variables which made the conflicts simply appear as a mere interethnic differences. The fifth conference is a continuation of the dialogue on peace, democracy, unity and transition. Pdf weaknesses of ethnic federalism in ethiopia haymi.
Diffenent modelsdifferent challenges advantagesdisadvantages by dr. Hence, the argument that the introduction of the federalism system created new ethnic based conflicts in ethiopia does not hold. Ever since 1991, ethiopia has departed from the old unitary form of state and has been implementing language based federalism. Opportunities and challenges of tourism development in the addis ababaupper rift valley corridor tadesse kidanemariam professor, department of geography, edinboro university of pennsylvania, edinboro, usa abstract in spite of a long history of promotion and development, ethiopias tourism industry is in its initial stages of. Multinational federalism is the definite approach to peace and advancement in ethiopia, as it is the best way to deal with the ethiopias ethnic diversity peacefully and democratically.
Reform in ethiopia 9 spikes in ethnic violence 11 3. The eprdfs ethnic policy has empowered some groups but has not been accompanied by dialogue and reconciliation. First, in the ethiopian context ethnically based selfrule does not necessarily mean hate to other ethnic groups. Pdf ethiopia adopted ethnic federalism and restructured the regions along ethnic. Now that the ethnic federal experiment is more than a decade old, it is possible to make a tentative evaluation of its performance. Yet, due to the unfeasibility of achieving a perfect overlap between ethnic and territorial boundaries, every ethnic based territory will contain ethnic minority groups. Pdf ethnicbased federalism in ethiopia and its impact. Dr bekalu atnafu taye is assistant professor at kotebe metropolitan university, addis ababa, ethiopia. Ethnic federalism is a federal system of national government in which the federated units are defined according to ethnicity. Opportunities and challenges of tourism development. Yet, due to the unfeasibility of achieving a perfect overlap between ethnic and territorial boundaries, every ethnicbased territory will contain ethnic minority groups. The study aspires to clarify some of the ideas revolving around this form of federalism. 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 the aim of this book is to bring a much needed comparative dimension to the discussion of ethiopian federalism.
Ethnic federalism has been exploited to plant division among ethnic groups so as to institutionalize and facilitate rule by the tplf and other politically affiliated groups. Ethnic federalism and its discontents crisis group. Canada, ethiopia, india, malaysia, nigeria, pakistan, russia, st. Ethnic federalism and its discontents crisis group africa report n153, 4 september 2009 page 2 ii. Ethnic federalism in ethiopia as we have seen, the1995 constitution establishes a federal state structure composed of two autonomous entities, i. More over the challenge this mode of federalism encumbers ethiopia with and the opportunities it is pregnant with are hoped to be identified with a view to see how best one can utilize it. Territorial autonomy for ethnic groups is an important component of ethiopian federalism designed to deal with the challenges of ethnic diversity. Ethiopian ethnic federal system is significant in that it provides for secession of any ethnic unit. In chapter four, the notion of federalism, ethnicity, and self determination will be. Teshomes partisan commentary is irresponsible, riddled with factual inaccuracies and removed from the reality as lived by the majority of ethiopians in 2017. Federalism is one of the most misunderstood concepts in ethiopia. Opportunities and challenges addis abeba, apr 21 prensa latina with about 76 ethnic groups, ethiopia is based in a federal system that strengthens the shared identity and the social capital, underlined today local academicians. It has successfully countered ethnic and regional challenges. Federalism and challenges to ethiopian democracy answers.
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