The End of Democracy? Curtailing Political and Civil Rights in Ethiopia

Aalen, Lovise; Tronvoll, Kjetil

doi:10.1080/03056240903065067

Cited by 122 publications

(84 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Mass recruitment of EPRDF party members from 700 000 in 2005 to 5 million in 2010, 6 evidence that access to public services and livelihood security is increasingly conditional on party membership, the stifling of media and civil society organizations and, most importantly, 96.6 percent of the seats in the House of People's Representatives for EPRDF in the May 2010 federal and regional elections that is a reminder of the one party period of the Derg are indicators for this trend. 7 Much has been written about the impacts of decentralization at the regional and district levels, yet relatively little research has been done on the dynamics of decentralization and administrative reform at the kebele level. As the lowest administrative unit the kebele and its organs are the most prominent embodiment of the state in rural areas.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decentralization to the household: expansion and limits of state power in rural Oromiya

Emmenegger

Keno²,

Hagmann

2011

Journal of Eastern African Studies

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This article sheds light on the impacts and dynamics of the latest decentralization phase in Ethiopia, which seeks to professionalize and democratize local government. Based on recent field research in Oromiya Region, we draw attention to the paradoxes inherent in the top-down decentralization of public administration within an authoritarian one-party state. On the one hand, decentralization in Oromiya has empowered kebele administrations and facilitated the expansion of service delivery into rural hinterlands. In particular the sub-kebele state and party structure is instrumentalized by local governments to mobilize and control households. On the other hand, state authority remains limited as peasants resist and subvert state-led development works and kebele officials must rely on clientelistic networks to implement policies. Consequently, decentralization and kebele reform in post-1991 Ethiopia have so far neither altered the tradition of hierarchical state-society relations nor improved the lack of genuine representative democracy at kebele level. THIS ARTICLE IS NOT FOR CITATION WITHOUT THE AUTHORS' PERMISSIONThis article sheds light on the impacts and dynamics of the latest decentralization phase in Ethiopia, which seeks to professionalize and democratize local government. Based on recent field research in Oromiya Region, we draw attention to the paradoxes inherent in the topdown decentralization of public administration within an authoritarian one-party state. On the one hand, decentralization in Oromiya has empowered kebele administrations and facilitated the expansion of service delivery into rural hinterlands. In particular the sub-kebele state and party structure is instrumentalized by local governments to mobilize and control households.On the other hand, state authority remains limited as peasants resist and subvert state-led development works and kebele officials must rely on clientelistic networks to implement policies. Consequently, decentralization and kebele reform in post-1991 Ethiopia have so far neither altered the tradition of hierarchical state-society relations nor improved the lack of genuine representative democracy at kebele level.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Decentralization to the household: expansion and limits of state power in rural Oromiya

Emmenegger

Keno²,

Hagmann

2011

Journal of Eastern African Studies

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“…The first post-reform election was in May 2005, and in a relatively open political environment, the ruling party suffered huge losses (Aalen and Tronvoll 2009). However, the EPRDF used its power over the military to squash both opposition parties and protest activities during the post-election period (Aalen and Tronvoll 2009;Gudina 2011).…”

Section: Transitional Status Of Youthmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the EPRDF used its power over the military to squash both opposition parties and protest activities during the post-election period (Aalen and Tronvoll 2009;Gudina 2011). Following the wake of the post-election violence, EPRDF undertook a campaign of mass mobilisation, particularly targeting urban youth who participated in protest activities in significant numbers (Di Nunzio 2012).…”

Section: Transitional Status Of Youthmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These, combined with political repression, acted to constrain the activities of opposition parties, private media and civil society organisations (Aalen and Tronvoll 2009;Gudina 2011). At the same time, the ruling party enhanced its political power by establishing channels of mass mobilisation targeting women, youth, farmers and other segments of society.…”

Section: Transitional Status Of Youthmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Politics of Youth Employment and Policy Processes in Ethiopia

Gebremariam

2017

IDS Bulletin

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Policy processes are inherently shaped by political contexts. One way of identifying the impact of politics on policy processes is by examining how policy narratives and framings evolve through time. This article examines youth employment-focused policies in Ethiopia between 2004 and 2015. It argues that policy narratives and framings driving youth employment policy are directly derived from the developmental orientation of the incumbent Ethiopian regime. The 2005 post-election political crisis also played a major role in streamlining youth-focused policy processes.

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“…110 Ethiopian CSOs on the other hand, are not able to expand their human rights and access to justice activities due to funding limitations. As a result, external funders who want partners to work in these areas are either forced to withdraw their funds or change their orientation thereby leaving wide gaps in such projects.…”

Section: Opportunities For External Fundingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advancing access to justice for the poor and vulnerable through legal clinics in Ethiopia: constraints and opportunities

Abate¹,

Birhanu²,

Alemayehu³

2017

Miz Law Rev

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The right of access to justice, inter alia, enjoins states to provide legal aid services and employ legal literacy programs. It also ensures access to legal and justice institutions or legal remedies to the indigent and the vulnerable. Although the right of access to justice is guaranteed in Ethiopian laws, it continues to be unavailable to most citizens particularly to the indigent and the vulnerable because the different mechanisms (designed to ensure access to justice to these groups) have not been accorded sufficient legal recognition and are poorly implemented. We argue that law school legal clinics could be among the viable pursuits in addressing the gap. However, this study reveals that legal clinics per se are non-existent. In many law schools, the establishment of legal clinics has been hindered by lack of expertise, commitment of law schools to run clinical programs and financial problems. Law schools can meaningfully contribute to fill the gaps of access to justice in Ethiopia, if their legal aid centers are consolidated and used as legal clinics, and if clinical legal education is provided in accordance with the curricula designed in 2006 and 2013.

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The End of Democracy? Curtailing Political and Civil Rights in Ethiopia

Cited by 122 publications

References 13 publications

Decentralization to the household: expansion and limits of state power in rural Oromiya

Decentralization to the household: expansion and limits of state power in rural Oromiya

The Politics of Youth Employment and Policy Processes in Ethiopia

Advancing access to justice for the poor and vulnerable through legal clinics in Ethiopia: constraints and opportunities

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