Related terms are multiethnic federalism and ethnofederalism. The history of federalism stems from the formation of confederations that sought to give more powers to their central governments. Many people died and a number of people were injured. Weaknesses of ethnic federalism in ethiopia ijhssi. On paper, federalism seems well suited for the philippines. Theoretically, ethnic federalism endorses the principle of a voluntary union and it is therefore a positive factor for the current system.
But the way federalism was implemented caused problems from the start. In an ethnic federation, there is a problem of treating unequal ethnic groups equally. Eventually ethnic loyalties would wither as people grew richer, went the thinking of the marxistinspired eprdf. This is because it restricts the movement labor, capital and knowledge.
Ethnic based leadership instead of competence based leadership hrc, 35 th special issue, p. Ethiopias invention of ethnic based federalism had been the center for academic and political debates for the past two decades. Federalism and party politics in ethiopia download ebook. Meles zenawi and his government adopted ethnic federalism to establish the equality of all ethnic groups in present day ethiopia.
This empirical study shows that the system eases conflict at some levels but also sharpens inter ethnic and intra ethnic divides on the ground. Can ethnic federalism help to manage ethnic conflicts and. Fiscalfederalismintheethiopianethnicbasedfederalsystem download fiscalfederalismintheethiopianethnicbasedfederalsystem ebook pdf or read online books in pdf, epub, and mobi format. The model and making of ethnic federalism in ethiopia. Students are to discover what, how and why federalism is used in the united states. In my opinion, a large inclusive parliament with a powerful federal democratic republic at the centre can be good alternative to the existing ethnic based federalism as to mediate or gradually. Download pdf federalismandethnicconflictinethiopia. A study of federalism in iraq from the view of the micro. Perceptions of ethnic federalism and the ethiopian diaspora community in the us by kassaw tafere merie msw, arizona state university, 2015 mbl, university of south africa, 2011 ba, addis ababa university, 1994 dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of doctor of philosophy public policy and administration. Its new constitution created a federal system largely consisting of ethnic based territorial units. In principle, ethnic groups are the independent subjects of the federation and they enjoy equal status.
The several definitions of federalism in current use the seminal attempt at defining federalism was made by wheare in his 1946 work federal government. Ethnicbased federalism and ethnicity after 20 years jeas 2011. By way of structure, the constitution consists of twelve chapters and 106 articles, of which 39 describe the. And, ethnic federalism in ethiopia will succeed if it serves as a political tool to manage our ethnic diversity and to strengthen our democratic unity based on equality and equitable sharing of the political and economic resources of the country as well as our capability to solve the evernagging problems of underdevelopment, and the.
Ethiopian somali region, in defence of the multinational. Such transfers of revenues usually fall under three categories. The fact that organization of the state is largely based on ethnicity has given rise to sub national units that are asymmetrical in size and capacity. This book is based on a special issue of the journal of eastern african studies. The, the profederal, outlooks ethnic based federalism as a means to intensification unity, and they support diversity for the sake of unity. What federalism is called when it is not just nationalstate relations local governments are included in igr. Reed lesson description this lesson is an introductory lesson to federalism. The eprdfs ethnic policy has empowered some groups but has not been accompanied by dialogue and reconciliation. Pdf ethnicbased federalism in ethiopia and its impact. Ethnic federalism and its discontents the web site. Federalism as a tool for conflict management in divided societies. Federalism, especially in large or diverse countries, can also improve service delivery and democratic resilience, ensure decisions are made at.
The case of ethnic based federalism in ethiopia wondwosen teshome and jan zahorik. Even for distinct schools of thoughts, federalism mean different. Nov 01, 2015 the ruling party encourages ethnic based opposition while eliminating parties that advocate ethiopian nationalism. 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. This forms the bedrock of the modern literature on the concept and remains today the most common point of departure for scholars working in the field. Ethiopia s unique system of ethnic based federalism claims to minimise conflict by organising political power along ethnic lines. As leenco argues a new free federal ethiopia was to be built on the grave of the empire out of free.
Hence, ethnic federalism was installed voluntarily after the overthrow. Fiscal federalism in ethiopia, fiscal federalism in ethiopia subject of this article, has been adopted within a unique political landscape of ethnic federalism. A means for managing or a triggering factor for ethnic conflicts in ethiopia. 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. Ethiopias recent experiment with ethnicbased federalism offers. This chapter aims at providing a general background about the politics of. 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 ethiopia adopted ethnic federalism and restructured the regions along ethnic lines as soon as the. This immediately raises a number of the complexities that beset this subject and that mechanistic discussions of it tend to ignore or obscure.
Ethiopian somali region, in defence of the multinational federalism ahmed deeq hussein 112216 ethiopian somali region is either 1st or 2nd largest region, constitutes of the country, and 3rd largest ethnic group with an estimated total population of 5 million. Federalism as one of the three form of government has been considered as a uniting factor. Challenges and opportunities abstract the study analyses the role of federalism in solving the national and ethnic conflicts. Perceptions of ethnic federalism and the ethiopian diaspora. The dilemma of ethnic based territorial units and ethno linguistic orientation of the geographical configuration of the federal state has provoked harsh criticisms. Fessha phd is an associate professor of public law and jurisprudence at the university of the western cape and currently a mariecurie fellow at the institute for comparative federalism at eurac research in bolzano. Coercive, cooperative, and collaborative federalism in. The government has created nine ethnicbased regional states and two federally. The mono ethnic party promotes the interests of one ethnic group and openly appeals to this group to unite politically under its party banner. 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.
Related terms are multi ethnic federalism and ethnofederalism. 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. Ethnic federalism has been exploited to plant division among ethnic. Ethnic federalism is a unique and controversial attempt to account for the contested nature of ethnic identities in contemporary ethiopian politics through a variety of mechanisms, including the. Sep 17, 2017 the ethnolanguage based federalism crafted and implemented by tplf tigray peoples liberation front in ethiopia caused significant rift, conflict, suffering, destruction and death among ethiopian people.
Unity v diversity ethiopias ethnic federalism is being. In order to discuss federalism at a theoretical level at least, it is necessary to dene it. The ethnolanguage based federalism has failed in ethiopia. Usa, frg, multiethnic switzerland, presentday russia and multinational forms former.
Accordingly, students of federalism classify federations based. Ethnic federalism is a federal system of national government in which the federated units are defined according to ethnicity. Click download or read online button to fiscalfederalismintheethiopianethnicbasedfederalsystem book pdf for free now. Federalism is debatable not only in practice but also at theoretical levels. In a nutshell, ethiopian ethnolinguistic federalism is a response to the unfavorable conditions that prevailed in a unitary system, he concludes. Being a country of many races, ethnic groups and religious factions, iraq, has adopted federalism as its governmental form based on article 4 of the provisional constitution and article one of the permanent constitution for the post a saddam era. View comparative federalism research papers on academia. In northern shoa between amhara and oromo ethnic groups. Ethnic federalism implementation in ethiopia longdom publishing. This has been its strategy to continue its divide and rule policy. Aalborg universitet restructuring state and society ethnic. In spite of all the criticism and skepticism, the ethiopian government claims it is committed to fully.
Pdf one of the core principles instituted by the post1991 government in ethiopia that took power after a successful armed struggle was. Various studies show that ethnic federalism is an obstacle to equitable growth and development. Draft ethiopia ethnic federalism university of chicago law. Ethiopia adopted ethnic federalism and restructured the regions along ethnic lines as soon as the eprdf took political power by overthrowing the marxist military government in 1991. Ethnic based leadership hrc, 35 th special issue, p. In reality, however, it could become a recipe for disaster in a country that is already divided by language, religion and economic. Federalism is a concept considered in political science as a classical form of government, especially when viewed next to the unitary form. Federalism, local government and minority protection in. From this point of view it describes the main types of modern federal state. In ethiopia the idea of ethnic based selfrule came as a result of mistrust of central government. Federalism is a means of ensuring peace, stability and mutual accommodation in countries that have territorially concentrated differences of identity, ethnicity, religion or language. In fact, the problem is sufciently complex that no mere denition will sufce. 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. One of the core principles instituted by the post1991 government in ethiopia that took power after a successful armed struggle was ethnicbased federalism, informed by a neoleninist political model called revolutionary democracy.
Ethnic based party systems and democratic stability. This paper tried to look at the turnouts of the ethnic federalism implementation in ethiopia since 1991 focusing on the theme of the ethnic federal system as an integration and conflict resolution instrument. This paper sought at understanding the paradox of ethnic federalism. Being one of the most diverse nations in the world, ethiopia is not an exception to be free from ethnic conflicts due to its weak political. Ethiopias invention of ethnicbased federalism had been the center for academic and political debates for the past two decades. The aim of this paper is to examine the merits and the demerits of federalism. Fiscal federalism in the ethiopian ethnic based federal system the constitution also guarantees borrowing right of the states. The eprdfs ethnic federalism has not dampened con flict, but rather. Oct 10, 2018 it may be noted that the ideas of fiscal federalism are relevant for all kinds of government, unitary, federal and confederal.