Decentralized Governance under Centralized Party Rule in Ethiopia
The Tigray Experience
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12575962 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Dejen Mezgebe (Debre Berhan University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 25 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 473-490 |
| Publication date | 2015-10-20 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Regional & Federal Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1359-7566 • E-ISSN: 1743-9434 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/13597566.2015.1114924 |
| OpenAlex | W2233992348 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
| References cited | 14 |
In the mid-1990s Ethiopia adopted a federal constitution promising regional autonomy and the creation and strengthening of local government units below the regional level. Some observers attribute the various shortcomings of Ethiopian federalism that have emerged since then to the original institutional/constitutional design. This paper, however, argues that what is not in the constitution has come to influence the workings of decentralization more than what is codified in it. The dominant national party in power, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), either directly or through affiliates, controls political office at all levels of government, thereby limiting the room for local initiative and autonomy. The presence of a national dominant party limits the responsiveness and downward accountability of Wereda (district) authorities; it also undermines political competition, and by extension, good governance at the grassroots level. The paper is based on field research carried out in the Tigray regional state of Ethiopia. The conclusion is that when one party dominates the politics of the region and its institutions, extra-constitutional intra-party politics determine how things work, thereby subjugating localities’ autonomy and impeding their ability to deliver on promises of decentralization
Accountability · Autonomy · Centralized government · Constitution · Corporate governance · Decentralization · Democracy · Economics · Federalism · Good governance · Government (linguistics · Grassroots · Local government · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Regional autonomy · Sociology · State (computer science · African history and culture analysis · Law · Public Administration · Religion and Society Interactions · Turkey's Politics and Society
The awkward embrace
One-Party Dominance in African Democracies
Ethiopia's Experiment in Accommodating Diversity
Federalism and Decentralization in Sub-Saharan Africa
Iron Houses in the Tropical Heat
Ethnic Federalism
The Dominant Party System
Counting parties and identifying dominant party systems in Africa
Comparative Federalism and Decentralization
Federalism, Federal Political Systems, and Federations
Party Dominance ‘Theory
The Constitutional Status of Local Government in Federal Systems
Conflict and Intervention in the Horn of Africa
| Unique citing works | 6 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0.55 |
| Citation span | 2015 - 2024 (10) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |