The paradox of the Ethiopian Developmental State: bureaucrats and politicians in the sugar industry

Gebresenbet, Fana; Kamski, Benedikt

doi:10.1080/02589001.2020.1716963

Cited by 8 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Johnson 1982, Evans 1995, You 2015. In Ethiopia, in contrast, it was the political elite and the party that provided ideological direction and policy detail, with the bureaucracy focused on implementing politically defined strategies (see Weis 2015, Gebresenbet and Kamski 2019.…”

Section: Building the Infrastructural Power Of The Party-statementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The plan involved ten new sugar factories and an additional 400,000 hectares of plantations in Afar (Kessem and Tendaho), South Omo (Kuraz), Tigray (Welkait) and Amhara (Beles). The centrepiece of the strategy would be the Kuraz project in the Omo Valley with five factories and a plantation of 175,000 hectares, with irrigation enabled by the regulation of flood waters by the Gilgel Gibe III dam completed in 2016 (Gebresenbet and Kamski 2019). Like the 26,000-hectare Tendaho project in Afar, the Omo projects aimed to create large numbers of jobs, as well as turning the local pastoralist and shifting cultivator populations into outgrowers producing sugarcane.…”

Section: State-directed Agricultural Investmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The sugar industry dates back to the 1950s, with the original foreign firms nationalised by the Derg (Zewde 2008a). By the mid-2000s, sugar production met just 40 per cent of domestic demand (Gebresenbet and Kamski 2019). The government planned a major expansion to produce sugar, bio-ethanol and biomass electricity to substitute for imports and then move into exports, taking advantage of a preferential EU trade agreement (ESDA 2010).…”

Section: Million Tonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ethiopia’s ‘Developmental State’

Lavers

2023

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Ethiopia stands out as a leading example of state-led development in Africa. Tom Lavers offers in this book a comprehensive, multi-sector analysis of Ethiopia's development project, examining how regimes maintain power during the extended periods required to bring about economic transformation. Specifically, Lavers explores how the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF, 1991-2019) sought to maintain political order through economic transformation, and why the party collapsed, leading to the outbreak of civil war in 2020. The book argues that the EPRDF sought to secure mass acquiescence through distribution of land and employment. However, rapid population growth and the limits of industrial policy in the contemporary global economy led to a distributive crisis that was a central factor in the regime's collapse. This Ethiopian experience raises important questions about the prospects for economic transformation elsewhere on the continent. This title is also available as Open Access on Cambridge Core at doi.org/9781009428316.

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Section: Building the Infrastructural Power Of The Party-statementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: State-directed Agricultural Investmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Million Tonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ethiopia’s ‘Developmental State’

Lavers

2023

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“…Yet the need for autonomy to protect against political capture is just one aspect of these successful bureaucracies. Key EPRDF and government documents (EPRDF, 2006(EPRDF, , 2010b are silent on other aspects, such as the importance of meritocracy and political empowerment of the bureaucracy, as others have highlighted (Lefort, 2013;Chang & Hauge, 2019;Gebresenbet & Kamski, 2019). In contrast, the EPRDF, from its inception to its disintegration, cast itself as a vanguard party tasked with mobilising and raising the consciousness of the masses under a framework of revolutionary democracy and democratic centralism (EPRDF, 1993(EPRDF, , 2010a.…”

Section: Political Ambitions and Technical Expertise In The Electricity Sectormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For similar dynamics in the sugar sector, seeGebresenbet and Kamski (2019).15 Interviews with senior official in the energy sector (EG6) and a former senior EEP official (EG8).16 Interview with a senior official in the energy sector (EG37).…”

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confidence: 99%

Powering development: the political economy of electricity generation in the EPRDF’s Ethiopia

2021

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This paper examines the political economy of electricity generation planning in Ethiopia during the EPRDF era , highlighting the importance of power relations between politicians and the bureaucracy, the political interests of the ruling party and the dominant ideas shaping politics and the electricity sector. To do this, the research draws on more than 100 key informant interviews with politicians, government officials, consultants and donors involved in the sector. The paper argues that the ruling party's approach to electricity was emblematic of the successes and limitations of its 'developmental state' project pursued over the past 20 years. The increased supply of low-cost electricity is seen as a key input into industrial policy, a means of securing foreign exchange and a mechanism for legitimating the ruling party among the population. Moreover, the narratives used to justify massive investment in electricity generation mirror the party's changing ideological reference points, from Marxism to the developmental state to a recent and tentative turn to liberalisation. Electricity supply has increased significantly over this period, with further large-scale projects nearing completion. However, the huge developmental ambitions of the political elite have at times undermined the planning process in the sector, leading to an emphasis on megaprojects to meet implausible estimates of future demand and questionable project design.

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A critique of building a developmental state in the EPRDF's Ethiopia

Kelecha

2022

Canadian Journal of Development Studies / Revue canadienne d'ét

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The paradox of the Ethiopian Developmental State: bureaucrats and politicians in the sugar industry

Cited by 8 publications

References 20 publications

Ethiopia’s ‘Developmental State’

Ethiopia’s ‘Developmental State’

Powering development: the political economy of electricity generation in the EPRDF’s Ethiopia

A critique of building a developmental state in the EPRDF's Ethiopia

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