THE SUCCESS AND FAILURE OF WESTERN POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY IN CONTEMPORARY ETHIOPIA

Abstract

The principal objective of the study is to explore the success and failure of Western political philosophy in contemporary Ethiopia. The tradition of Western political philosophy had a long history and emerged in Athens primarily to acquire knowledge of the good life, the polis, and the good society. Under this long history, political philosophy attempts to know truly the nature of political things, the qualities of leaders, the nature of good political order, and the best regime. Accordingly, Western political philosophers starting from the classical to the contemporary period have proposed certain political thoughts and principles such as rule of law, separation of power, popular sovereignty, governance accountability, universal suffrage, an independent judiciary, peaceful transition of political power, political pluralism, free, fair and periodic election, majority rule and minority rights, and the like to eradicate the worst conditions of life and at the same time to create well-ordered and secured polity. For a clear understanding of the study topic, the researcher demonstrates the success and failure of the above-mentioned Western political thoughts in contemporary Ethiopia by categorizing it as the political philosophy of constitutionalism, Machiavellian political philosophy, social contract theory, and Marxian political philosophy. These Western political teachings have been imported and practiced by the previous and current governments of Ethiopia mainly for the sake of bringing good governance, social justice, liberty, and economic progress. However, the processes of adopting and implementing some of the major Western political philosophies mentioned above have failed except Machiavellian political philosophy. With an exception of Machiavellian political philosophy, the rest political philosophies of the west either liberal or illiberal political doctrines have failed in the continent of Africa. This is the major argument of the study. Based on this major argument, the researcher finds many internal and external factors that negatively affect the success of Western political philosophies in contemporary Ethiopia. To establish the best political sphere that benefits the whole Ethiopian people regardless of difference, the researcher also suggests crucial remedies for the existing political mess. Finally, for the reason behind the credibility and acceptability of the researcher’s main argument, the study used historical facts, high-quality personal observations, and valuable literature to fairly examine the success and failure of Western political philosophies in contemporary Ethiopia.