Oromo liberation front, coalition for unity and democracy, tigrayan peoples liberation front, ethiopian peoples revolutionary democratic front, unity for democracy and justice, workers party of ethiopia, afar revolutionary democratic unity. It has ruled for over 20 years and won all 547 seats in the may 2015 general election see ruling party ethiopian peoples revolutionary democratic front eprdf. Institutions and practices, essential for democratic governance, are still at their infancy. Professor smiths research focuses on citizenship in contemporary african states, ethnic identity, and political conflict. In this short article i will try to present what i believe the alternative to revolutionary democracy is in ethiopia. The ruling ethiopia peoples revolutionary democratic. As of ad 4th century the patriarch at alexandria sends bishops as high priests over the ethiopian church, and that tradition continued even though moslems governed egypt.
Democracy and the developmental state meles zenawi horn. Pdf divabout the paper this paper is an extract from my book entitled. The main political ideological deference between revolutionary democrats and liberal democrats in ethiopia is that the revolutionary democrats give precedence to group rights whereas liberal democrats promote individual rights. Historians tendency to neglect this phase has led them to ignore how this revolutionary democracy worked. On revolutionary democracy, see jeannicolas bach, abyotawi democracy. Pdf twenty years of revolutionary democratic ethiopia, 1991. Democracy, that we will b le, especially fl isomng c, con eopies ncnt or has b teresl have force. In ethiopia, idelas of revolutionary democracy were imported in the early 19070s, when. 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.
A democratic revolution is a political science term denoting a revolution in which a democracy is instituted, replacing a previous nondemocratic government, or in which revolutionary change is brought about through democratic means, usually without violence. Following the collapse of the peoples democratic republic of ethiopia in the early 1990s, the eprdf gained support from the united states. Front eprdf in its notable second reform app raisal held in. The second information revolution and the roots of pluralism. My argument is not that revolutionary democracy as the eprdf practices is not a good alternative. History and ideology 57 selfadministration through regional autonomy. The ideology advocated a class approach on such key democratic rights as freedom of association and speech. At best, it is a vision of radical goodness which becomes an inhuman vision because it justifies the evil of oppression. The coalition of opposition parties and some individuals that was established in 2009 to oust at the general election in 2010 the regime of the tplf, meles zenawis party that has been. Initially the derg was popular following the coup against haile selassie who came to power under the slogan of ethiopia first, land to the peasants and democracy and equality to all. The major military, if not the political, forces responsible for the demise of the dictatorship known as the. Download pdf politicalpartiesinethiopia free online.
Ethiopias human development index score has steadily increased over the past decade, but its participation and human rights score has remained stagnant. Michael johns, an africa expert with the heritage foundation, wrote in 1991 that there are some modestly encouraging signs that the front intends to abandon mengistus autocratic practices. Ethnic federalism and its discontents crisis group africa report n153, 4 september 2009 page 2 ii. Democracy, developmental state and development extract from chapter 7. Lahra smith political violence and democratic uncertainty in. The derg became deeply unpopular due to ill sought out policies and mass executions, which sent a.
Twenty years of revolutionary democratic ethiopia, 1991 to 2011 article pdf available in journal of eastern african studies 54. The eprdfformulated ideology of revolutionary democracy in ethiopia is. However, revolutionary democracy as a paradigm had to undergo periodic refinements by its authority, pm meles zenawi, to adapt it with timely changes of structural scale in side and outside. Publication date 2011 title variation from autocracy to revolutionary democracy isbn 9789994499588 9994499580. Some scholars exclusively emphasize one ideology or the other but not necessarily the continuities that sustained domination. Selassie in may 1991, the much hated and brutal militarymarxist dictatorship that traumatized ethiopians for seventeen years was finally overthrown. Finally we also show when is the process likely to end up in either democracy and its quality or a full communist regime. Therefore, the major objective of this article is to fill this knowledge gap by studying the performances and challenges to economic development and democracy in ethiopia. The congress elected a new all russian central executive committee of the soviets, or vtsik. The ethiopian quest for democracy in a dominant party state core. Problems and prospects for democracy by alemante g. The comment focuses on the liberal preamble and its contradictory restrictive provisions. Part ii of the comment analyzes the effects the press law will likely have on the media and citizens of ethiopia. Sadly, proponents of revolutionary democracy in ethiopia frequently engage in this fallacy.
Ethiopian peoples revolutionary democratic front wikipedia. In the attempt to define revolutionary democracy where the editorinchief argued that. Revolutionary democracy 317 which is the eprdf fiction is another challenge to the effective realization of the federalism project. A look at ethiopia s new prime minister abiy ahmed, and the hope for media reform.
The oddities of revolutionary democracy addis standard. Tigray peoples liberation front tplf and ethiopian peoples democratic movement epdm currently known as the amhara national democratic movement andm. Breaking with a centralized past, the incumbent government of the ethiopian peoples revolutionary democratic front eprdf committed itself to a decentralization policy in the early 1990s and has since then created a number of new sites for statecitizen interactions. Ethiopia current situation, possible solutions by theodore m. Goals of the revolutionary democracy that meet the mission. Media and freedom of information proclamation in july 2008. It traces its origin to the kingdoms that emerged in the northern highlands in the fourth century. It involves revising a countrys constitution to allow for the people to have the power to have. Narrow nationalism and chauvinism, attitudes that undermine unity and solidarity, are still widely prevalent in the society. Revolutionary democracy appears by meles and his party to be an option over liberal new democracy in ethiopia s context for the last 25 years. Revolutionary democracy personified by eprdf arrests and executes political opponents, harasses dissenting ideas, strips ethiopians of all political rights and civil liberties for the good vision of a prosperous ethiopia.
Pdf twenty years of revolutionary democratic ethiopia, 1991 to 2011. One could say its about one person one vote, another might imply that its about ruling by consent of t. Yethiopia hizbawi abyotawi party, also referred to as ihapa or the eprp, is the first modern political party in ethiopia. Vestal professor of political science oklahoma state university the perpetrators of human rights abuses and deficits of democracy in ethiopia take many names. While it is a word widely used in every context its actually not that simple to define. Ethiopian peoples revolutionary democratic front eprdf. For several months, they participated as the bolsheviks partners and played an important role in the government. The ethiopian revolution, the derg, civil war and famine.
Jul 14, 2016 the problem with this question is the term democracy. Revolutionary democracy appears by meles and his party to be an option over liberal new democracy in ethiopias context for the last 25 years. The principles of revolutionary democracy could effectively address the basic needs of the ethiopian people by stumping out the bane of corruption, nepotism and abuse of power, the members said. But the putative linkage between the two factors should have been subjected to logical and empirical interrogation. Democracy in africa this book provides the fi rst comprehensive overview of the history of democracy in africa and explains why the continents democratic experiments have so often failed, as well as how they could succeed. Thus, the eprdf that assumed power in may 1991 after its protracted 17 year armed insurgency undertaken the reconstruction of the ethiopian state. It is a causative fallacy to argue that because b follows a, a is the reason for b. Nic cheeseman grapples with some of the most important questions facing africa and democracy. Ethiopia history 1974ethiopia politics and government. This 105page report documents the ways in which the ethiopian government uses donorsupported resources and aid as a tool to consolidate the power of. The imperial period 1974 ethiopia is the only african state never colonised by a foreign power. The problem with this question is the term democracy. Settling the accounts of revolutionary democracy in. In this model, devised by the reigning tigray peoples liberation front later.
Rather, i believe that eprdfs revolutionary democracy has numerous positive facets. The notion of revolutionary democracy is purely rhetorical, if not theological. While election of new leadership of the ruling party has brought forth a surge of optimism in most quarters that democratic space will expand, stability is still fragile as ethnic and identitybased conflict prevails. This article explores the politics of decentralization and statepeasant encounters in rural oromiya, ethiopia. The kantian principle of moral autonomy moral growth is growth in autonomy. Political pressure groups include the council of alternative forces for peace and democracy in ethiopia cafpde beyene petros and the southern ethiopia peoples democratic coalition sepdc beyene petros. Revolutionary democracy 317 which is the eprdf fiction is. They said revolutionary democracy could also encourage the direct participation of the people in the nation building process. Unless an individual can legislate universal principles for themselves on the grounds expressed so well and consistently by noam chomsky, alan gewirth.
Ethiopian peoples revolutionary party bahai studies. How social media shaped calls for political change in ethiopia. Ethiopian peoples revolutionary party from wikipedia, the free encyclopedia the ethiopian peoples revolutionary party amharic. A democratic revolution is a political science term denoting a revolution in which a democracy is instituted, replacing a previous nondemocratic government, or in which revolutionary change is brought about through democratic means, usually without violence concepts. Democracy, human rights, and governance ethiopia u. Being neither democratic nor revolutionary, this doctrine is a bricolage aiming at legitimizing the political and economical structure put in place by the tplf, according to an academic study.
That day, parliament adopted new and more liberal legislation on civil society groups to replace a decadeold, highly repressive law that had targeted the work of humanrights advocates and other defenders of a free society. The derg became deeply unpopular due to ill sought out policies and mass executions, which sent a shock wave across the country. Changing basis of political legitimacy from revolutionary democracydemocratic centralism to personal charisma buttressed by divine power. The ethiopian peoples revolutionary democratic front eprdf is a political organization established in 1989 by member parties. The statute of ethiopian peoples revolutionary democratic front eprdf which is a governing political organization in ethiopia since may 1991 says eprdf is governed by the principles of revolutionary democracy and struggles for the objectives as specified in its party program. We argue that this total election victory was meant as a signal to party cadres that defection is not tolerated. Ethiopias transformation into an ethnic federal state ideology. Democracy and the developmental state meles zenawi. The ethiopian peoples revolutionary democratic front eprdf, victor in the civil war in 1991, has since transformed into an authoritarian party. According to the ruling partys manifesto and several documents issued subsequently, such rights be allowed for the progressive forces of revolutionary. During this period, the derg was responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of opponents without trial in the qey shibir and the 1983. Pdf twenty years of revolutionary democratic ethiopia. In the early ad century, an emperor of ethiopia, yekuno amlak, had subjugated moslems in ethiopia.
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