Assefa Fiseha
Biographic Data
| ID | 166497 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Assefa Fiseha |
| GIVEN NAMES | Assefa |
| FAMILY NAME | Fiseha |
| SIGNATURE | FISEHA A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Addis Ababa University |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-0022-9924 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 7 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 20 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 7 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2011 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 1 |
Emerging issues and new frontiers in federalism, regionalism and territorial governance
This essay marks the transition to a new editorial team at Regional & Federal Studies and offers a broad review of emerging themes and future directions in the study of federalism, regionalism, and territorial governance. Building on the journal’s legacy, it identifies key areas of conceptual and empirical development, highlights ongoing shifts in the global research landscape, and calls for greater geographical and epistemological diversity beyo…
Ethiopia
Ethiopia adopted a federal system in 1995 as a means to manage its complex diversity. The system promises substantial political autonomy to ethnonational and regional groups and fair representation in federal institutions as a means to address age-old demands for inclusion and self-government. Given that Ethiopia is a deeply divided country of minorities where none of the ethnonational groups taken alone constitute a "50 plus 1" majority, this in…
Tigray
A devastating war broke out between the federal government and Tigray regional state of Ethiopia in November 2020. What is its cause and how does it affect the dynamics in Tigray and in Ethiopia in general? The article demonstrates using clear indicators that an authoritarian centrist elite and its policy that came to power in 2018 pursued a very centralised decision making, removing regional state heads and imposed new polices that violate self-…
Transition to Democracy in Deeply Divided Ethiopia
The article explains the state of political transition in Ethiopia since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018 based on the concept of political settlement in the context of divided societies. It is qualitative research based on in-depth interviews with fifteen key political party leaders and key experts. Relevant literature on democratization in Ethiopia has been reviewed and has rarely explored the issue of democratization in the cont…
Constitutional Adjudication through Second Chamber in Ethiopia
Ethiopia has empowered its second chamber (the House of Federation—HoF) to interpret the constitution and resolve constitutional disputes. This article analyses whether a majoritarian institution such as the HoF can serve as effective mechanisms for the resolution of constitutional disputes. While the HoF has played some role in resolving cases of high political significance such as rights realizing local self-rule, it has of late tilted the fede…
Ethiopia's Experiment in Accommodating Diversity
After years of centralised rule that emphasised unity, since 1991 Ethiopia has adopted a federal system that aims at accommodating diversity. This article assesses whether Ethiopia's experiment with federalism is achieving the promised goal of managing diversity or whether it is exacerbating conflicts. The federation's biggest risk is its entanglement with the ruling party, its reliance on soft institutions of democracy and narrowly based institu…
Separation of powers and its implications for the judiciary in Ethiopia
This paper examines the role of the judiciary in Ethiopia. Implicit in the notion of separation of powers is the fact that the judiciary has a crucial role in resolving disputes impartially, ensuring the rule of law and in setting limits to power. Yet in Ethiopia the legislature has sought to take away power from the courts, placing them in quasi-judicial bodies within the executive. The judiciary has also failed to check that the executive is ac…
Ethiopia's Experiment in Accommodating Diversity
After years of centralised rule that emphasised unity, since 1991 Ethiopia has adopted a federal system that aims at accommodating diversity. This article assesses whether Ethiopia's experiment with federalism is achieving the promised goal of managing diversity or whether it is exacerbating conflicts. The federation's biggest risk is its entanglement with the ruling party, its reliance on soft institutions of democracy and narrowly based institu…
Constitutional Adjudication through Second Chamber in Ethiopia
Ethiopia has empowered its second chamber (the House of Federation—HoF) to interpret the constitution and resolve constitutional disputes. This article analyses whether a majoritarian institution such as the HoF can serve as effective mechanisms for the resolution of constitutional disputes. While the HoF has played some role in resolving cases of high political significance such as rights realizing local self-rule, it has of late tilted the fede…
Separation of powers and its implications for the judiciary in Ethiopia
This paper examines the role of the judiciary in Ethiopia. Implicit in the notion of separation of powers is the fact that the judiciary has a crucial role in resolving disputes impartially, ensuring the rule of law and in setting limits to power. Yet in Ethiopia the legislature has sought to take away power from the courts, placing them in quasi-judicial bodies within the executive. The judiciary has also failed to check that the executive is ac…
Separation of powers and its implications for the judiciary in Ethiopia
This paper examines the role of the judiciary in Ethiopia. Implicit in the notion of separation of powers is the fact that the judiciary has a crucial role in resolving disputes impartially, ensuring the rule of law and in setting limits to power. Yet in Ethiopia the legislature has sought to take away power from the courts, placing them in quasi-judicial bodies within the executive. The judiciary has also failed to check that the executive is ac…
Ethiopia's Experiment in Accommodating Diversity
After years of centralised rule that emphasised unity, since 1991 Ethiopia has adopted a federal system that aims at accommodating diversity. This article assesses whether Ethiopia's experiment with federalism is achieving the promised goal of managing diversity or whether it is exacerbating conflicts. The federation's biggest risk is its entanglement with the ruling party, its reliance on soft institutions of democracy and narrowly based institu…
Constitutional Adjudication through Second Chamber in Ethiopia
Ethiopia has empowered its second chamber (the House of Federation—HoF) to interpret the constitution and resolve constitutional disputes. This article analyses whether a majoritarian institution such as the HoF can serve as effective mechanisms for the resolution of constitutional disputes. While the HoF has played some role in resolving cases of high political significance such as rights realizing local self-rule, it has of late tilted the fede…
Transition to Democracy in Deeply Divided Ethiopia
The article explains the state of political transition in Ethiopia since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed came to power in 2018 based on the concept of political settlement in the context of divided societies. It is qualitative research based on in-depth interviews with fifteen key political party leaders and key experts. Relevant literature on democratization in Ethiopia has been reviewed and has rarely explored the issue of democratization in the cont…
Tigray
A devastating war broke out between the federal government and Tigray regional state of Ethiopia in November 2020. What is its cause and how does it affect the dynamics in Tigray and in Ethiopia in general? The article demonstrates using clear indicators that an authoritarian centrist elite and its policy that came to power in 2018 pursued a very centralised decision making, removing regional state heads and imposed new polices that violate self-…
Ethiopia
Ethiopia adopted a federal system in 1995 as a means to manage its complex diversity. The system promises substantial political autonomy to ethnonational and regional groups and fair representation in federal institutions as a means to address age-old demands for inclusion and self-government. Given that Ethiopia is a deeply divided country of minorities where none of the ethnonational groups taken alone constitute a "50 plus 1" majority, this in…
Emerging issues and new frontiers in federalism, regionalism and territorial governance
This essay marks the transition to a new editorial team at Regional & Federal Studies and offers a broad review of emerging themes and future directions in the study of federalism, regionalism, and territorial governance. Building on the journal’s legacy, it identifies key areas of conceptual and empirical development, highlights ongoing shifts in the global research landscape, and calls for greater geographical and epistemological diversity beyo…
Law (7 works) · Political science (7 works) · Law (6 works) · Politics (6 works) · Sociology (4 works) · African history and culture analysis (3 works) · Democracy (3 works) · Federalism (3 works) · Geography (3 works) · Judicial and Constitutional Studies (3 works)