Aalborg Universitet Restructuring State and Society Ethnic Federalism in Ethiopia Balcha, Berhanu Publication date: 2007 Document Version Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record Link to publication from Aalborg University Citation for published version (APA): Balcha, B. (2007). Restructuring State and Society: Ethnic Federalism in Ethiopia. SPIRIT. Spirit PhD Series No. 8 General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. ? Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. ? You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain ? You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? 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Downloaded from vbn.aau.dk on: September 29, 2021 SPIRIT Doctoral Programme Aalborg University Kroghstraede 3-3.237 DK-9220 Aalborg East Phone: +45 9940 9810 Mail: [email protected] Restructuring State and Society: Ethnic Federalism in Ethiopia Berhanu Gutema Balcha SPIRIT PhD Series Thesis no. 8 ISSN: 1903-7783 © 2007 Berhanu Gutema Balcha Restructuring State and Society: Ethnic Federalism in Ethiopia SPIRIT – Doctoral Programme Aalborg University Denmark SPIRIT PhD Series Thesis no. 8 ISSN 1903-7783 Published by SPIRIT & Department of Culture and Global Studies Aalborg University Distribution Download as PDF on http://spirit.ihis.aau.dk/ Front page lay-out Cirkeline Kappel The Secretariat SPIRIT Kroghstraede 3, room 3.237 Aalborg University DK-9220 Aalborg East Denmark Tel. + 45 9940 9810 E-mail: [email protected] Homepage: http://spirit.ihis.aau.dk/ Restructuring State and Society: Ethnic Federalism in Ethiopia PhD dissertation Berhanu Gutema Balcha Institute of History, International and Social Studies Aalborg University September 2006 Restructuring State and Society: Ethnic Federalism in Ethiopia Berhanu Gutema Balcha Supervisors: Professor Jacques Hersh Professor Mammo Muchie Uni Print, Aalborg University September 2006 Aalborg, Denmark Abstract This dissertation explores and examines the process and structure of ethnic federal arrangement in Ethiopia. Ethiopia contains about 70 million people and approximately about 80 ethnic and linguistic groups. The “ethnic- federal” experiment of devolving public sector powers to ethnic groups goes against the centralized nation-building project of the previous regimes. The previous regimes used a different model; they gave much emphasis to ‘Ethiopian nationalism’ as a unifying concept and promoted centralization rather than regional or ethnic autonomy. However, in 1991, the new ruling group in power, who had started their movement for the liberation of their ethnic region from the central Ethiopian administration, has advocated ethnic- federalism by stressing that it could empower and equalize the diverse ethnic communities and reduce conflict. As a result, the overall centralized structure of the previous regime has been replaced by a “federal” system’ consists of nine ethnically and regionally delimited states with various ethnic self-administrative constituencies that could exercise their own political power and legal personalities. Thus, ethnicity and federalism have become the major factors in organizing the political and territorial space in the country. Since the introduction of the ethnic federal project in 1991, there have been wide-ranging claims especially by many Ethiopian intellectuals that the ethnic federal structure would collapse in a short time and the country could immerse into ethnic conflict. Despite these claims, however, the ethnic federal arrangement has survived for more than a decade. This short period of survival may not be enough to assure the continuation or sustainability of the system; nevertheless it triggers an interest to understand how it has able to survive and also to engage in finding the possible explanations regarding the pattern and trend of the restructuring process. Thus, this study made a close exploration and examination of the process in order to determine whether ethnic federal formula in Ethiopia is an appropriate model to empower and equalize the diverse and disparate ethnic groups in the context of united and workable Ethiopia state. Acknowledgement Many individuals have been helpful and supportive in the process and completion of this dissertation. My first gratitude goes to my supervisors Professor Jacques Hersh and Professor Mammo Muchie for their moral, intellectual and material support. Particularly, I express special thanks to Professor Jacques Hersh who has continued the supervision in is retirement age. I am also grateful to the Research Center for Development and International Relations (DIR), where I feel at home and enjoy the cherished friendship and warmth of the staff. During my fieldwork in Ethiopia, I greatly benefited from the cooperation and participation of many ordinary individuals and officials at federal, regional and local levels and, thus I wish to express my appreciation for their indispensable contribution. Special thanks are due to my field assistances who contributed a great deal in facilitating the field research. Finally, I wish to extend my gratitude to my father, Gutema Balcha, and my mother, Tadelech Godana who have devoted a lot for the progress of my education. I would like also to express my appreciation to my wife, Misrak Berhanu, for her demonstrative support. However, all errors and omissions of the findings and analyses rest solely on me. Berhanu Gutema Balcha Aalborg University, 2006 Abstract...................................................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgement................................................................................................................................... vi List of Tables.............................................................................................................................................. i Acronyms and Glossary.......................................................................................................................... 2 Chapter One: Introduction, the Problem and Methodology............................................................... 5 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................5 1.2 The Research Problem......................................................................................................... 8 1.3. Methodology........................................................................................................................... 13 1.4 Challenges and limitations in collecting and analysing the empirical information ....................................................................................................................................... 21 1.5 The structure of the dissertation..................................................................................... 22 Chapter Two Theoretical Consideration on Federalism and Ethnicity .......................................... 25 2.1 Understanding Federalism................................................................................................ 25 2.2 Federalism as a continuing political bargain ............................................................. 31 2.3 Federalism in Multiethnic Societies............................................................................... 33 2.3.1 Ethnicity ................................................................................................................................. 34 2.3.1.1 Defining Ethnicity................................................................................................... 34 2.3.1.2 The Primordialism Argument............................................................................ 36 2.3.1.3 The Instrumentalist Argument.......................................................................... 40 2.3.1.4 Summary and relevance to Ethiopia............................................................. 45 2.3.2 Ethnic Federalism................................................................................................................. 49 2.4 Summary................................................................................................................................... 58 Chapter Three: Factors behind the emergence of ethnic federalism in Ethiopia......................... 61 3.1 The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF): Origin and Objectives............................... 62 3.2 The creation of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF).......... 70 3.3 The July Conference, the Charter and the transitional government.................................... 74 3.3.1 The July 1991 ‘Peace and Reconciliation’ Conference: was it a representative and legitimate convention?................................................................................................................... 76 3.3.2 The Charter: was it a genuine covenant? .......................................................................