Features of ethiopian federalism pdf

Throughout this piece, i argue that the story of apartheid and the story of the ethiopian federal experiment form two stories, two different tales, of repressive. Jun 10, 2017 the special advantage of the ethiopian federalism. Important features of ethiopian legal system tesfay kumenit, dean, university of gondar, ethiopia this is a paper addressing an overview of the main features of current ethiopian legal system. In this chapter, we focus on this form of powersharing. An overview on the most important features of ethiopian. Constitution of the federal democratic republic of ethiopia. A comparative regional study routledge studies in federalism and decentralization book 20 kindle edition by kefale, asnake. The developmental state and federalism in ethiopia. To do this, strong good governance and democratic institutions are very important.

Igr are the dynamics of interjurisdictional and political relationships among levels of government within the structural framework of federalism. Ethiopia s ancient system of feudal government experienced significant changes under haile selassie i reigned 193074, who carefully grafted onto the traditional governing institutions a weak parliament of appointed and elected legislators, a judiciary with modernized civil and criminal codes and a hierarchy of courts, and an executive. The common distinctive features of federations are also. The second issue is the division of the revenue raising fiscal federalism in ethiopia between the federal government and the regions.

In this part of the series i will reflect upon the major stages in which the ethiopian federal. Comparative federalism uses a comparative approach to explore the contemporary nature and meanings of federalism and federation. For the first time in the history of ethiopia, a written constitution was framed. Federalism as an instrument of balancing the tension between universalism and particularism has drawn more attention in pluralistic societies. Oct 10, 2018 10 may to what extent is the ethiopian fiscal federalism decentralized in experience of ethiopian fiscal federalism is associated with equal access. What is the features of federalism in ethiopia answers.

Municipal, county, special districts 85,000 subnational governments in u. The 1974 revolution which can be summed up as a revolution conducted under the banner of land to the tiller has led to land. Center state relations in the ethiopian federal setup. The end is addressing one of the two most salient political questions of the 20 th century ethiopia as articulated by the student movement of the 1960s, namely the historic question of nationalities and the question of land. After the end of the cold war era there is a drift in to reaffirmation of ethnic identity as a means of determining the public life of a society, the venture to ethnify. Their sovereignty shall be expressed through their representatives elected in accordance with this constitution and through their direct democratic participation article 9 supremacy of the constitution. Supremacy of the constitution an important feature of federalism a federation is an agreement between two or more sovereign states to create a new state in which each will exercise specific powers. Northeast african studies, volume 10, number 2, new series, pp.

Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading federalism and ethnic conflict in ethiopia. Pdf ethnicbased federalism in ethiopia and its impact on. Following the end of the war, the postconflict government led by meles zenawi needed to balance the demands of over 90 ethnic. Federalism the ethiopian way federalism was introduced in ethiopia in 1991 when the ethiopian peoples revolutionary democratic front eprdf came to power and launched the idea of selfdetermination for the nationalities, up to and including secession, devolving political, administrative and economic power to ethnically defined. Sc speaker, house of federations federal democratic republic of ethiopia. 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. What make unique ethiopian federalism from other federal state. Eprdf ethiopian peoples revolutionary democratic front. A comparative regional study routledge studies in federalism and decentralization book 20. Two tales, or one on ethiopias federalism and south. The long years of survival as an independent state ushered in the country. As it is known ethiopias federal system unique characteristics emanates from the countrys political, economical and social realities.

Ethiopia has developed interesting mechanism of subsidy transfer systems and formulas revised formulas in 1997, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2007, 2009. Learn more about the history and characteristics of federalism in this article. Coercive, cooperative, and collaborative federalism in. A federation is an agreement between two or more sovereign states to create a new state in which each will exercise specific powers. Related terms are multiethnic federalism and ethnofederalism. The conceptual distinctions between federalism, federations and federal political systems are dealt with. Following the end of the war, the postconflict government led by meles zenawi needed to. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets.

Pdf territorial autonomy for ethnic groups is an important component. As such, despite its limited scope, this monograph may be. Its accent on ethnolinguistic criteria for state formation, its constitutional recognition of the right to secession, the. Hof house of federation, the second or upper chamber. Given the federal structure of the country, the need for maintaining a uniform. An economic analysis of fiscal federalism in ethiopia.

Critique of professor clapham habtamu alebachew lecturer recently, i shared my brief outline of a monograph with colleagues and friends across domestic and foreign universities. Federalism is a means of ensuring peace, stability and mutual accommodation in countries that have territorially concentrated differences of identity, ethnicity, religion or language. However, these pledges were not translated into practice. Since 1991, ethiopia has gone further than any other country in using. Providing both a detailed theoretical examination and fresh case studies, it clearly distinguishes between federation, a particular kind of state, and federalism, the thinking that drives and promotes it. Pdf the comparative relevance of the ethiopian federal system. I n fact, ethnicbased territorial autonomy constitutes one of the major features of the 1995 constitution and the basis for the internal organisation. Ethiopia has its own domestic official language and hosts many. Accordingly, the material deals with the following. What make unique ethiopian federalism from other federal.

In a federal government, the powers of administration are divided between the centre and the units. Ararssa, special to addis standard in the first part of this series of reflection on ethiopia s experiment with federalism, i have discussed the sketchy description of the federation in context and the current ethiopian federal system and its fundamental features. Nov 09, 2015 in the first part of this series of reflection on ethiopias experiment with federalism, i have discussed the sketchy description of the federation in context and the current ethiopian federal system and its fundamental features. This provides a more favorable environment to preserve and develop specific regional, historical, economic and cultural features. Thus, the eprdf that assumed power in may 1991 after its protracted 17 year armed insurgency undertaken the reconstruction of the ethiopian state. The division of the country in cus guarantees that many economic, political and cultural centers develop.

Ethiopia has been experimenting with federalism for several years now. Chapter one introduces students to the basic concepts, principles and underlying assumptions of the many tax laws of ethiopia at present. Historical facts and the ethiopian constitution put addis ababa in oromia. With its unique features, ethiopia s model of federalism has brought about a wide spectrum of benefits to the country. The following are the important characteristics of federalism also known as federal form of government. Some of the unique features that are inherent to the federal set up, such as the constitutional recognition of secession, umpiring of federalism through a second. 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.

Abstract in multiethnic country, respect of diversity and ethnic equality is a major tool for national integration. The system generally satisfies the will of the people of ethiopia more. Federal form of state contrary to unitary form of state sharply, in general, is a system of governance with diverse features of state powersharing. Territorial representation subnational units representing themselves in political processes. A means for managing or a triggering factor for ethnic conflicts in ethiopia. Some unique features of the new constitution of ethiopia. Pdf ethiopia has been experimenting with federalism for several years. Federalism has a balancing and thus a stabilizing effect. In this part of the series i will reflect upon the major stages in which the ethiopian federal experiment. From a geographic point of view, federalism belongs rather to the new world, i.

Untold salient feature in ethiopian federalism, state. It must be in oromia, in amhara or the debub region. Relationship between contemporary politics and trends in size and power of the federal government. Federalism, especially in large or diverse countries, can also improve service delivery and democratic resilience, ensure decisions are made at. Two tales, or one on ethiopias federalism and south africa.

This constitution is an expression of their sovereignty. Federalism represents a unique form of governmental arrangement. As a federal country, the functions and duties of the government are divided between central and state governments and they are generally. However, ethnic federalism has proved to be a venomous project designed to disintegrate the country gradually into smaller states as it has been witnessed over the past quarter of a century. The definition and theories of federalism is explored. Federalism has two main features territorial autonomy subnational units regions exercising autonomy in decisionmaking processes. Apart from theory, federalism has also its geography and history, which is evident if one bears in mind that it most frequently appears in certain historical eras and on certain continents, more often than somewhere else. The regime transformed the hitherto centralised state into the federal democratic republic and also redefined.

The original sin of ethiopian federalism article pdf available in ethnopolitics december 2016 with 15,797 reads how we measure reads. According to the constitution, they are given all the power to develop their region. The powers may be distributed in one of the two ways. The system designed to fuse an unwieldy nation together is now tearing it apart. Federalism, in its modern form, has been shaped by the existing realities surrounding the concept. Actors, power and mobilization under ethnic federalism, e. Sep 22, 2016 a disadvantage of federalism is the lack of accountability. The most globally notable characteristic of federalism is that power is not given to regional states from the center, as in the case of a unitary system. This is because, it involves organisation of the state in such manner as to promote unity while at the same time preserving existing diversities within an overarching national entity. Untold salient feature in ethiopian federalism, state minister zadig the state minster of the ethiopian office of government communication affairs has announced that there are three untold salient features in the ethiopian federal system of governance as opposed to that of the one based on neoliberal school of thought. This agreement is in the shape of the constitution. Written constitution it is important as the division of powers between centre and the states is present in the constitution.

Either the constitution states what powers the federal authority shall have and leaves the. Pdf ethnicbased federalism in ethiopia and its impact. What federalism is called when it is not just nationalstate relations local governments are included in igr. The note focuses on what specifically two political. Draft ethiopia ethnic federalism university of chicago law. Actors, power and mobiliza tion under ethnic federalism, is made up of a laconic. First of all, addis ababa does not exist in a vacuum. History and ideology 57 selfadministration through regional autonomy.

Pdf the comparative relevance of the ethiopian federal. Rigid constitution the federal units are protected fro. Ethnic federalism is a federal system of national government in which the federated units are defined according to ethnicity. Ethnic federalism and its discontents executive summary the ethiopian peoples revolutionary democratic front eprdf, led by its chairman and prime minister, meles zenawi, has radically reformed ethiopias political system. Related terms are multiethnic federalism and ethnofederalism 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. Article 39 of the constitution states that, every nation, nationality or people in ethiopia shall have the unrestricted right to self determination up.

A view from the practice a dissertation submitted to the school of law of addis ababa university, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of master of laws ll. The fiscal federalism in ethiopia states have their respective autonomous governments set up. Accordingly, this teaching material tries to address, even though briefly, the basic component of tax law, especially in ethiopia. Federalism is the mixed or compound mode of government, combining a general government the central or federal government with regional governments provincial, state, cantonal, territorial or other subunit governments in a single political system. An overview on the most important features of ethiopian legal. Its distinctive feature, exemplified in the founding example of modern federalism by the united states under the constitution of. Since there is an overlap of boundaries within the national and state governments, it had become tricky to assign blame for failed any failed policies. In this regard various understandings and conceptual debates on the nature, meaning and definition of federalism are discussed. This is despite recurrent scepticism about its desirability and appropriateness in a globalising world. The constitution defines and explains the powers and the. Federalism overview in the pr eviou s chapter, we noted that v ertical divi sion of power among different levels of government is one of the major forms of powersharing in modern democr acies. The factors that endanger the current system simultaneously suggest under what conditions the concept of ethnic federalism might succeed in the ethiopian context. It has been governed by several emperors until the overthrow of. Again, the part which relates to the regional context of africa may help to conceive and understand both the strength and limitations of the ethiopian federal system in the wider regional context.

The essay begins with an extremely brief background section on ethiopias history and demographics. Aug 18, 2014 lastly, i submit the claim that while the ethiopian state practice can be likened to apartheid on many other grounds, its adoption of federalism wont be one of these grounds. Pdf the original sin of ethiopian federalism researchgate. Federalism, mode of political organization that unites separate states or other polities within an overarching political system in a way that allows each to maintain its own integrity. The study of federalism has attracted scholars of various fields for a long time. When the ethiopian peoples revolutionary democratic front eprdf ruling coalition established the system of ethnic federalism after coming to power in 1991, it served a clear purpose. What is more unique to the ethiopian federalism is that the phrase in article 39, right to selfdetermination up to secession, serves as a brake on any form of attempts of a unitarist regime. For the first time in the history of ethiopia, a written constitution was framed in 1931 during the emperor hailesilassies ii regime 192419741. Dec 09, 2019 the system designed to fuse an unwieldy nation together is now tearing it apart. Then it weighs the irrelevance of the ethiopian federal experiment to the countries in the subregion by looking into the significance of multiethnic federalism for internal peace and stability. Jan 14, 2011 some unique features of the new constitution of ethiopia. In recent days i have been following the crisis in addis to which many were speaking passionately. The features of the federalism is the king and queen,nobles,knights,and finally the peasants. The nonfederal features of the ethiopian ethnicbased federal.