The Politics of Ethnicity in Ethiopia

Actors, Power and Mobilisation Under Ethnic Federalism
Erscheinungsjahr 2011
ISBN: 978-90-04-20729-5
Verlag: Brill

Buch, Englisch, Band 25, 214 Seiten, Format (B × H): 160 mm x 239 mm, Gewicht: 386 g

Reihe: African Social Studies Series

Most governments in Africa, seeing the political mobilisation of ethnicity as a threat, have rejected the use of ethnic differences as an explicit basis for political representation. The one prominent exception is Ethiopia, which since 1991 has imposed a system of ethnic-based federalism that offers each ethnic group the right of ‘self-determination’. This book provides a detailed empirical study of this system at work in the complex multiethnic environment of southern Ethiopia. It finds that ethnic self-rule, in combination with the power politics of an authoritarian regime, has produced both intended and unintended outcomes. While arguably easing large-scale ethnic conflicts, it has led to ‘ethnicisation’ of local socioeconomic disputes and to sharper inter-ethnic and intra-ethnic divides, often to the disadvantage of historically marginalised groups.

Zielgruppe

Political scientists, anthropologists, development practitioners, and policy makers dealing with multi-ethnic societies, federalism, ethnic conflict regulation, and the nature of ethnic identities. Africanists and readers of Ethiopian politics and societies.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Aalen, Lovise

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Ethnologie Kultur- und Sozialethnologie: Politische Ethnologie, Recht, Organisation, Identität
• Sozialwissenschaften Ethnologie | Volkskunde Volkskunde Historische & Regionale Volkskunde

Inhaltsverzeichnis

CONTENTS
Preface and Acknowledgements. vii
Abbreviations. xi
Selected Glossary. xiii
List of Maps and Tables. xv
Chapter One Introduction: The Limits of Institutions in
Multiethnic Societies. 1
Chapter Two ‘National Self-Determination’: Federalism the
Ethiopian Way. 25
Chapter Three The Historical Trajectories of Local Ethnic
Polities: The Sidama and the Wolayta. 55
Chapter Four Ethnic Politics in Play: Implementing
Self-Determination in a South Ethiopian Context. 95
Chapter Five Crafting Ethnic Politics: The Formation of
Parties in Sidama and Wolayta. 109
Chapter Six Dealing with Local Minorities: The Persistence
of Discriminatory Practices under Ethnic Federalism. 127
Chapter Seven Identities or Resources at Stake?
Controversies on National Self-Determination in Sidama
and Wolayta. 147
Chapter Eight Conclusion: The Facets of Ethnic Federalism 179
References. 195
Index.203

Über Autor(innen)

Aalen, Lovise
Lovise Aalen, Ph.D. (2008) in Political Science, University of Oslo, is Senior Researcher at Chr. Michelsen Institute, Norway. Her other publications include a wide scope of studies of Ethiopian politics, among them Ethiopia since the Derg: A decade of Democratic Pretentions and Performance (co-editor; Zed Books 2002).