University of Tennessee, Knoxville TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 8-2009 Contested Legitimacy: Coercion and the State in Ethiopia Dima Noggo Sarbo University of Tennessee - Knoxville Follow this and additional works at: https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss Part of the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Sarbo, Dima Noggo, "Contested Legitimacy: Coercion and the State in Ethiopia. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2009. https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/98 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of TRACE: Tennessee Research and Creative Exchange. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Dima Noggo Sarbo entitled "Contested Legitimacy: Coercion and the State in Ethiopia." I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Sociology. Jon Shefner, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Harry F. Dahms, Paul K. Gellert, Robert A. Gorman Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official studentecor r ds.) To the Graduate Council: I am submitting herewith a dissertation written by Dima Noggo Sarbo entitled ―Contested Legitimacy: Coercion and the State in Ethiopia.‖ I have examined the final electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Sociology. Jon Shefner, Major Professor We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance: Harry F. Dahms Paul K. Gellert Robert A. Gorman Accepted for the Council: Carolyn R. Hodges Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School (Original signatures are on file with official student records) CONTESTED LEGITIMACY: COERCION AND THE STATE IN ETHIOPIA A Dissertation Presented for the Doctor of Philosophy Degree The University of Tennessee Knoxville Dima Noggo Sarbo August 2009 Dedicated to my wife, Kulani Gudina, and our children, Babsa, and Bafta, for their patience, love and support. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS As many such undertakings are, this dissertation project took me through an arduous intellectual and emotional journey. I began with a very ambitious agenda of doing a comparative study of experiences with liberal democracy in Africa. Then, I shifted to the crisis of development with a case study of Ethiopia. The journey eventually led me to the critical role of the state, in having a democratic order as much as in organizing development. Therefore, I settled on looking at the characteristics of the African state, with a case study of the oldest, the Ethiopian state. This has been emotionally challenging, as I was involved, for most of my adult life, in political struggles committed to change and transform the Ethiopian state. I have incurred several debts in the course of this journey. The list is long, and I cannot mention all of them here, but I hope they all will accept my heartfelt thanks. However, a few deserve special mention. In this endeavor, Jon Shefner not only provided me with academic guidance, but cleared some of the uncertainties and doubts I had. He made me feel confident that I was on the right track. He was also patient with me, as I was often unable to meet deadlines. I thank him very much for his guidance and constant support and encouragement throughout this process, and my years at the University of Tennessee. Harry F. Dahms has been a source of intellectual inspiration, also serving as my academic adviser. Robert Gorman took special interest from early on and has been sympathetic and supportive I benefited a great deal from his political theory classes. Paul K. Gellert has been very helpful in many ways, and his knowledge of other states and societies was very useful. Sherry Cable has not only been of tremendous support to me personally, especially during the early years of my time at the University of Tennessee, a time filled with many uncertainties, but, she has also been very helpful in guiding iii me through many procedural and administrative issues. To all of them, I say thank you for your interest and support. My friend Asafa Jalata, whom I have known for many years, was instrumental in my coming to the University of Tennessee. He has served as my adviser and has been a source of support. Zeituna Kalil helped me to settle down in Knoxville as I began this journey. I was welcomed into the family, and I enjoyed our lively conversations. I therefore express my gratitude and thanks to Asafa, Zeituna, Beka, and Kulani for their friendship, kindness, and support throughout my stay in Knoxville. There are many relatives and friends scattered all over the world that have supported and encouraged me on this journey. I would not have been able to begin this journey and reach my goal without the constant support and encouragement of my brother in law, Alemayyehu Katama. He deserves my regards, gratitude, and special thanks for the interest he has shown in my efforts and for all he has done for me. My friends, Simone Wolken, Thomas Albrecht, Konrad and Nina Melchers have been reliable friends, and very supportive of my family and myself. My friends from early youth, Mohammed Kitessa Melki, Getachew Begashaw, and Alamayyehu Tareke Tobo have been a source of support and encouragement. I express my gratitude and heartfelt thanks to all of them for their friendship, support and encouragement. Of all those who stood by my side in the course of this journey, my greatest indebtedness is to my immediate family. My friend, comrade and wife, Kulani Gudina, is a very strong and remarkable woman, with phenomenal qualities. This undertaking would have been impossible without her patience, love, support and encouragement. Our children, Babsa and Bafta, were iv forced to endure my long absence, and be content with occasional visits and a weekly telephone conversation during this journey. I always felt guilty for not discharging my responsibilities to them when they needed me most, and I feel they deserved better with my presence, care, and attention. I hope my successful completion of this project becomes a source of pride and a consolation to them. This dissertation is therefore deservedly dedicated to Kulani, Babasa and Bafta, for their patience, love, understanding, support, and encouragement. I say to them thank you and I love you! v ABSTRACT Most studies on Africa that analyzed the institution of the state emphasized the colonial origins of state formation, tracing the crisis of socioeconomic and political development to that specific historical trajectory. Colonialism has shaped the characteristics of modern African states, but it is also important to address institutional factors, methods of governance, and state- society relations in the post independence period. As Ethiopia was not directly constituted by European colonialism, a study of the Ethiopian state provides an opportunity to look at how the state has performed, and how it relates to its own society, without the colonial baggage. This case study explores the characteristics of the Ethiopian state employing neopatrimonialism as a theoretical framework. It addresses the system of personalization, hybridization, patronage, coercion and external factors in the exercise of state power. According to both Weberian and Gramscian theories of the state, the legitimacy of states is contingent upon the tacit acceptance of its authority by the majority of the population under its jurisdiction. Coercion is used as a threat and a last resort when all other persuasive and ideological methods have failed or become inadequate. Yet, the case study shows the use of coercion as an enduring feature of some states. The Ethiopian state has been consistently challenged internally and isolated regionally. Consequently, it has depended on a combination of coercion and external patronage as a survival strategy. This strategy has further complicated internal cohesion, and external patronage has also served as a disincentive to accommodate internal demands for inclusion. The endurance of violence and internal challenges to the authority of states is a general characteristic of states with contested legitimacy. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter I.......................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Prologue ...................................................................................................................................... 1 Why Study Ethiopia? .................................................................................................................. 2 Renewed Focus on the State ........................................................................................................ 7 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................. 11 Methodological