The Last Post-Cold War Socialist Federation: Ethnicity, Ideology and Democracy in EthiopiaAfter the fall of the Berlin wall and the disintegration of the former USSR and Yugoslavia, it has widely been assumed that socialist federations have become a thing of the past. Ethiopia’s ethnic federal system however is essentially a socialist federal system based on the notion of the ’right to self-determination of nationalities’ and a Marxist-Leninist organization of the state and party. This book assesses the Ethiopian ethnic federal system from the perspective of the principles of socialist federations and other Marxist oriented policies pursued by the ruling Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). Exploring how the application of these ideological principles has impacted on the structure and function of the Ethiopian federal system, the research examines the ways in which these ideological policies of the ruling party affect national consensus, protection of human rights, the rights of minority groups, separation of power principles and the relationship between the federal and regional governments. It also explores the extent to which ideological principles have had an impact on the democratization process, rule of law and in building up institutions such as parliamentary democracy, the judiciary, the media and civil society organizations in the country. Approaching the Ethiopian federal system from the perspective of the fundamental ideological principles of the party in power allows a deeper insight into the structure and function of the ethnic federal system. |
Contents
Socialist Federations and the Accommodation of Diversity | |
Introduction to Ethiopian Constitution and History | |
The Fundamental Ideological Principles Governing Ethnic Federalism in Ethiopia | |
The Principle of the Right to Selfdetermination in the Ethiopian Ethnic Federal | |
The Implications of Party Ideology in the Structure and Function of Ethiopias | |
The Role of Party Ideology in the Democratisation and Protection of Human Rights | |
Concluding Remarks | |
Bibliography | |
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Common terms and phrases
accommodation According administration Africa Amhara Amhara regional autonomy Bahru central government centralisation challenges communist conflicts consensus courts cultural democratic centralism democratisation Derg Despite diversity dominance economic elections elites emerged EPLF EPRDF Eritrea Ethiopian constitution Ethiopian federal system Ethiopian political ethnic federal system ethnic groups executive FDRE constitution federal arrangement federal government former socialist federations gimgemma Haile Selassie House of Federation human rights ideological principles independent institutions International International Crisis Group judicial judiciary Kymlicka Liberation Front linguistic major Markakis Marxist Meles Zenawi Menelik military regime minority groups mobilisation movement multicultural federations nationalist nations and nationalities Ogaden organisation Oromia Oromo pan-Ethiopian parliament party structure People’s political discourse political groups regional governments Republic revolutionary democracy right to self-determination role ruling Sakwa secession self-determination of nationalities separation of powers social society Soviet system of government Tigray Tigrayan TPLF TPLF/EPRDF vanguard party various