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THE POLITICAL ECONOMY of LAND TENURE in ETHIOPIA Steven View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by St Andrews Research Repository THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF LAND TENURE IN ETHIOPIA Steven Davies A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St. Andrews 2008 Full metadata for this item is available in Research@StAndrews:FullText at: http://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/580 This item is protected by original copyright The Political Economy of Land Tenure in Ethiopia By Steven Davies PhD Thesis School of International Relations University of St Andrews April 2008 Thesis Declaration The following amended thesis declaration is recommended to meet the requirements of electronic publication of PhD or MPhil theses, or embargoes thereon. I Steven Davies hereby certify that this thesis, which is approximately 80 000 words in length, has been written by me, that it is the record of work carried out by me and that it has not been submitted in any previous application for a higher degree. I was admitted as a research student in January 2005 and as a candidate for the degree of PhD International Relations in November 2005; the higher study for which this is a record was carried out in the University of St Andrews between 2005 and 2008. date …………. signature of candidate ……… ………. I hereby certify that the candidate has fulfilled the conditions of the Resolution and Regulations appropriate for the degree of PhD International Relations in the University of St Andrews and that the candidate is qualified to submit this thesis in application for that degree. date …….……. signature of supervisor ……… ………. The following is an agreed request by candidate and supervisor regarding the electronic publication of this thesis: Embargo on all of the printed and electronic copies of thesis for a period of 2 years on the following ground: publication would preclude future publication; - A publisher (Africa World Press) has expressed interest in reviewing the final version of the thesis for publication as a book. date …………. signature of candidate ……… ………. date …………. signature of supervisor ……… ………. 2 Abstract In surveying the literature on land tenure reform in Africa, what can readily be observed is that much of that body of work has comprised a markedly econometric and technical focus, to the neglect of evidently contiguous political factors. As a result, fundamental structural impediments to reform efforts have largely been ignored - a fact that may be reflected in the failure of many titling interventions. In light of this omission, the nature of political economy in both Ethiopia and Africa more generally is delineated in this thesis, in order to construct a more rounded conceptual framework through which the issue of land tenure can be deciphered. In so doing, the model of the ‘neopatrimonial’/anti-developmental state is utilised as a benchmark against which twentieth century Ethiopian regimes, and in particular the incumbent EPRDF Government, are assessed. Considerable evidence is uncovered to support the view that, despite its unique historical experience of independence, contemporary Ethiopia nevertheless fits with many key aspects of the neopatrimonial model – most notably in the Government’s pursuit of political survival and revenue to the neglect of long-term sustainable development. It is therefore argued that political imperatives have undermined the establishment of a progressive economic agenda in the country, and the ways in which this has affected land tenure are delineated. Moreover, it is demonstrated that the contemporary debate on tenure reform in Ethiopia has taken a form that is somewhat myopic and circuitous, possibly in an attempt to circumvent discussion of controversial political issues. It is argued that this apolitical stance has undermined not only the debate itself, but also the practical intervention strategies that have emerged from it, such as the recent land titling and administration project in Ethiopia. It is therefore concluded that the only means of escape from this theoretical and practical impasse is to reintegrate politics into the analysis. 3 Full Table of Contents Abstract…………………………………………………………………………… 3 Acknowledgements ………………………………………………………………. 7 Acronyms…………………………………………………………………………. 9 Introduction………………………………………………………………………. 11 Methodology………………………………………………………………………. 16 Chapter 1: Principles of Effective Land Tenure in Sub-Saharan Africa ……. 22 A. Introduction……………………………………………………………. 22 B. Towards a consensus in the land tenure debate?………………………. 24 C. Economic theories of land tenure……………………………………… 28 i. The evolutionary theory of property rights……………………. 28 ii. The neoclassical theory of property rights and investment incentives………………………………………………………. 30 D. Principles of land tenure: the structure and characteristics of effective property right regimes…………………………………………………..32 i. The distribution of holdings and the organisation of production……………………………………………………… 32 ii. Modernised versus traditional land tenure…………………….. 35 a. The case for customary tenure……………………….. 36 b. The case for formal registration………………………42 iii. The transferability of land rights………………………………..48 iv. Non-tenurial institutions and the provision of inputs and services………………………………………………………….53 E. Re-conceptualising land tenure in Africa……………………………… 59 F. Concluding remarks…………………………………………………….63 Chapter 2: Africa and the Politics of the “Hegemonic Drive”………………… 65 A. Introduction……………………………………………………………. 65 B. Postcolonial state formation in Africa………………………………… 66 C. The conditions of neopatrimonial rule………………………………… 71 i. Defining Neopatrimonialism……………………………………71 ii. Manifestations of ‘personalism’ within neopatrimonial Regimes………………………………………………………... 74 iii. Rational-legalism and clientelism – impossible allies?……… 77 D. The postcolonial economic mission…………………………………… 82 E. The well dries up: the decline of patronage revenues…………………. 88 i. The decline of external patronage…………………………….. 88 ii. The proliferation of policy interventions and aid conditionality………………………………………………….. 91 F. Conceptualisations of state and political crisis in contemporary Africa………………………………………………………………….. 96 i. The ‘democratic’ response to crisis…………………………… 97 ii. Economic and political crises in ‘spoils politics’ states………. 101 a. Warlordism………………………………………….. 102 b. Populist revolt………………………………………. 104 iv. Politics as an evolutionary process……………………………. 106 4 v. A simplified typology…………………………………………. 109 G. Concluding remarks…………………………………………………… 113 Chapter 3: A Political History of Ethiopia: The Rise of a Centralised Authoritarian State and the Genesis of Neopatrimonial Rule…… 118 A. Introduction…………………………………………………………… 118 B. State and power in pre-modern Ethiopia……………………………… 120 i. Historical Abyssinia …………………………………………. 120 ii. The southern marches………………………………………… 123 C. Absolutism and the birth of a neopatrimonial order………………….. 126 i. The intrusion of global capitalism……………………………. 126 ii. Haile Selassie and the rise of absolutism…………………….. 128 iii. The genesis of neopatrimonial governance…………………… 132 D. Revolution and military rule………………………………………….. 136 E. The rise of ethnic politics…………………………………………….. 141 i. Ethnonationalism and the fall of the Derg……………………. 141 ii. The EPRDF takes the reins…………………………………… 144 F. Contemporary politics in Ethiopia……………………………………. 146 i. Ethnofederalism - devolution of power to the periphery?…… 147 ii. Neopatrimonialism in contemporary Ethiopia………………. 154 G. Concluding remarks………………………………………………….. 163 Chapter 4: Land Tenure and Socioeconomic Decline in Ethiopia since the Late Nineteenth Century………………………………… 165 A. Introduction…………………………………………………………... 165 B. Economic structures in pre-modern Abyssinia………………………. 166 i. The political ecology………………………………………….. 166 ii. The rist-gult system of land tenure……………………………. 170 C. New market imperatives and the Ethiopian state…………………….. 178 i. Territorial expansion and the southern tenure system………… 179 ii. The decline of economic autonomy in the north……………… 181 D. The growth dilemma – macro and microeconomic development in the twentieth century………………………………………………… 187 i. The Selassie era……………………………………………….. 187 ii. The Derg and the emergence of state landlordship…………… 189 iii. The EPRDF’s development strategy – ADLI or façADLI?….. 192 E. Competing narratives: alternative accounts of socioeconomic decline and land tenure………………………………………………. 200 F. Concluding remarks………………………………………………….. 206 Chapter 5: The Debate on Land Tenure Reform in Ethiopia………………… 209 A. Introduction………………………………………………………….. 209 B. The Federal Government on land tenure, part 1 – rhetoric………….. 211 C. Ethiopian economists on land tenure…………………………..…….. 215 D. Donor organisations on land tenure in Ethiopia……………………... 225 E. Case study: land tenure ‘reform’ in Amhara state…………………… 232 F. Ethiopian farmers on land tenure…………………………………….. 244 G. The Federal Government on land tenure, part 2 – reality……………. 248 H. Concluding remarks………………………………………………….. 253 5 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………. 256 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………... 274 Internet Sources………………………………………………………………… 287 Appendix…………………………………………………………………………. 288 6 Acknowledgements I am indebted to a number of people for their support during the three and a half years it has taken for the completion of this thesis. First and foremost, I would like to thank my PhD supervisor Professor Ian Taylor for his ongoing guidance and encouragement, as well as for the many
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