the Developmental State and Ethnic Federalism in Ethiopia: Issues to Worry About

Abstract

Ethiopia’s “invention” of ethnic-based federalism had been the center for academic and political debates for the past two decades. In spite of all the criticism and skepticism, the Ethiopian government claims it is committed to fully realize the constitutional dictates to maintain fundamental values that any federal system should exhibit. Particularly, it has been expressing its dedication to preserve the pillars of the federal system including self-administration (self-rule) of the diverse ethnic groups and their representation at central decision-making (shared-rule). Nevertheless, shifts in the political economy narratives of the government posed serious challenges on the fate of the “ethnic federalism” in Ethiopia. Hence, the recent move to the developmental state (DS) has overlooked the federal principles as the extensive measures of “developmentalism” were taken at the cost of ethnonational interests of self-determination. The article is, therefore, aimed at scrutinizing the drawbacks of the developmental paradigm in accommodating the fundamental values of the federal system. Commenting on the existing challenges, this article further contends that it is possible to realize the utopian vision of building DS without eroding the constitutional guarantees of self-determination and subnational autonomy.