Federalism emerged as an important instrument of nationstate building after the collapse of european colonial empires in the immediate post world war ii period watts 1994a. A study of the secession clause in the constitution. In cases such as where the local governments deal with the local problems directly, federalism comes to play. This chapter aims at providing a general background about the politics of. Federalism as an instrument of balancing the tension between universalism and particularism has drawn more attention in pluralistic societies. Oct 18, 2017 ethiopia has 99 problems but ethnic federalism is the least of them. In this short essay, i approach the question of ethnic federalism in ethiopia from yet another perspective. Challenges and opportunities abstract the study analyses the role of federalism in solving the national and ethnic conflicts. The impact of the inclusion of secession clause in the. The eprdfs ethnic federalism has not dampened con flict, but rather increased. World federalism means having democratically accountable political institutions to deal with issues at the most appropriate level, according to the principle of subsidiarity. Can federalism help to manage ethnic and national diversity.
Ethnic minorities and federalism in nigeria african. Pdf ethiopia adopted ethnic federalism and restructured the regions along. Ethnofederalism and the management of ethnic conflict. For amhara and national elites, ethnic federalism impedes a strong, unitary nationstate. Ethnic federalism is and remains the only glue that is holding ethiopia together. It is the aim of this paper to juxtapose the benefits and the dangers of ethnic federalism as it is currently practiced in ethiopia. Minorities around the world are also often the victims of armed conflicts and internal strife. A means for managing or a triggering factor for ethnic conflicts in ethiopia. Ethnic minorities and federalism in nigeria african affairs.
World war ii, however, the preferred approach for protecting the interests of these communities has been to uphold the principle of nondiscrimination and guarantee the individual rights of persons. Managing ethnic and cultural diversity for national integration in nigeria patrick a. I have an essay for you by omer aamirprofessor fatima mustafa federalism and pakistan the following essay will do a number of things. The soviet developmental strategy assigned federalism and the cadres of nationalterritorial administration a central role in its response to the nationalities question. In western europe, the french are also hostile to federalism. Federalism is a means of ensuring peace, stability and mutual accommodation in countries that have territorially concentrated differences of identity, ethnicity, religion or language. Over the last 25 years, the regime has practised ethnic politics, stifling democratic rights, infringing upon civil. I have to go through your facebook id to know your country, so i can answer you better. And yet, this pioneering experiment in ethnic federalism has been largely ignored in the growing literature on democratization and ethnicity in africa and on the accommodation of ethnic diversity in democratic states the aim of this book is to bring a much needed comparative dimension to the discussion of ethiopian federalism. But incidence of ethnic violence was different in varying country. Now that the ethnic federal experiment is more than a decade old, it is possible to make a tentative evaluation of its performance. Since the tplfeprdf took control of ethiopia and implemented ethnic federalism, the countrys unity and territorial integrity has been seriously threatened and hatred and mistrust among various ethnics groups has grown. Related terms are multi ethnic federalism and ethnofederalism.
Multiethnic nations have sometimes found decentralized political arrangements attractive. The longest federal political systems in the world are found in the usa 1789. Federalism as a form of governance may be approached from two different anglesi. Rigid constitution the federal units are protected fro. Even for distinct schools of thoughts, federalism mean different.
Usa, frg, multiethnic switzerland, presentday russia and multinational forms former. Is ethnic federalism really the biggest problem in ethiopia. The aim of this book is to bring a much needed comparative dimension to the discussion of ethiopian federalism. A situation analysis and trend assessment a writenet report by sarah vaughan commissioned by united nations high commissioner for refugees, protection information section dip january 2004. Ethnic federalism and its discontents crisis group africa report n153, 4 september 2009 page 2 ii. Ethnic federalism and its discontents crisis group. In fact, the problem is sufciently complex that no mere denition will sufce. Multiethnic federalism in ethiopia 315 the nationstate model by attempting to create a unified nation out of disparate peoples.
Federalism, especially in large or diverse countries, can also improve service delivery and democratic resilience, ensure decisions are made at. Ethnic federalism is a federal system of national government in which the federated units are defined according to ethnicity. This type of federation is identified above all with the governance of meles zenawi from the 1990s in ethiopia, where it has sometimes been known as zenawism. The eprdfs ethnic policy has empowered some groups but has not been accompanied by dialogue and reconciliation. Americans, those who live in the worlds first and longestenduring federation, like federalism but tend to be against using it to give selfgovernment to distinct. In developing country incidence were low and in the developing sever.
Federalism, which was introduced in switzerland in 1848, makes it possible to enjoy diversity within a single entity. Written constitution it is important as the division of powers between centre and the states is present in the constitution. Osaghae, ethnic minorities and federalism in nigeria, african affairs, volume 90, issue 359, april 1991. Either it may be seen as a piecemeal way of building a larger political entity, i. The case of ethnic based federalism in ethiopia article pdf available october 2008 with 20,293 reads how we measure reads. The aim of this paper is to examine the merits and the demerits of federalism. Furthermore, ethnic federalism has failed to resolve the national question. The african world is not neat and tidy when it comes to federal experiments. Ethnic federalism and its discontents, african report no.
Background, present conditions and future prospects pdf. Ethnic federalism is a federal system of national government in which the federated units are. By guaranteeing substantial autonomy to such groups, federalism can allow them to exercise partial selfgovernment through state. Apr 29, 2015 4 the term antiethnic federalism is used here for the sake of clarity to refer to a divide and rule approach to managing ethnic conflict. The case of ethnicbased federalism in ethiopia article pdf available october 2008 with 20,293 reads how we measure reads. Its record of success is patchy while its failures seem. Although most ethnic minority leaders have recalled the spirit of comingtogether federalization in 1947, myanmars statemaking process has been heavily influenced by the strong national unification project, dominated largely by the historic formation of the myanmar armed forces tatmadaw during the second world war. Federalism, mode of political organization that unites separate states or other polities within an overarching political system in a way that allows each to maintain its own integrity. Can ethnic federalism help to manage ethnic conflicts and. Central among recent changes in the soviet union is an expanding and increasingly public politics of federalism. This line of reasoning leads me to be an advocate of world government, and, in particular, of world federalism. Ethiopia has the third worst internet service in the world, after somalia and niger, and is the fourth worst jailer of. A political theory of federalism english the world bank.
Without having identity alignment or psychology of belonging, individuals cannot have common intensions to work toward similar end results. Actors, power and mobilization under ethnic federalism, e. Soviet federalism and ethnic mobilization world politics. There are roughly 25 federal countries in the world today, which together represent 40 per cent of the world s population. Turton argues, federalism is based on the territorial autonomy of regional subunits, so as to. Before going any further, and as social scientists often forewarn, the discussion of. Ethnic federalism has been exploited to plant division among ethnic groups. Weaknesses of ethnic federalism in ethiopia siraw megibaru temesgen abstract. Published in challenges of measuring an ethnic world.
Download as pdf abstract territorial autonomy for ethnic groups is an important component of ethiopian federalism designed to deal with the challenges of ethnic diversity. Persons belonging to national or ethnic, religious and. Territorial autonomy for ethnic groups is an important component of ethiopian federalism designed to deal with the challenges of ethnic diversity. In this respect, many postcolonial multiethnic countries of asia and africa adopted federalism. Managing ethnic and cultural diversity for national. The purpose is to divide up territorially concentrated ethnic groups into multiple subunits to create or stimulate intraethnic cleavages and diminish the capacity of the group to act as a coherent unit. Federal form of state contrary to unitary form of state sharply, in general, is a system of governance with diverse features of state powersharing. Federalism in africa does not have a positive image. Such arrangements permit peoples who may differ greatly in their conceptions of a good public life to develop and maintain their own separate communities, within. Related terms are multiethnic federalism and ethnofederalism. The former is irrelevant to the problem of managing ethnic conflict. John mcgarry and brendan oleary, the political regulation of national and ethnic conflict, parliamentary affairs,vol.
The major problem in ethnic federalism is the confusions arising surrounding finding common denominatoridentity for its members. In theory, some form of nonethnic federalism exists as an alternative, but in practice, neither simple, nor anti ethnic, federalism is viable in these cases. Federalism and state formation in myanmar the irrawaddy. Weaknesses of ethnic federalism in ethiopia ijhssi. The first ones are the normative federalist ideologies which often 4 see. Federalism offers the following advantages federalism allows diversity. The origins of democracy can be traced to ancient and medieval city states where.
It is probably the only constitution in the world that promotes the disintegration of the country deliberately. Draft ethiopia ethnic federalism university of chicago law. The causes of ethnic conflict in multiethnic societies. The situation of refugees and internally displaced persons from minority backgrounds, in particular women and children, is of special concern. The case of ethnic based federalism in ethiopia wondwosen teshome and jan zahorik. Hence, the current federal system was introduced as a result of the ethnic right struggle which toppled the highly centralized regimes prevailed for centuries. Being one of the most diverse nations in the world, ethiopia is not an exception to be free from ethnic conflicts due to its weak political structures and mal governance. Rather than asking whether ethnic federalism is right for. Rather, to build a more perfect union a kind of mosaic, where all of ethiopias eightyplus ethnic groups can coexist while retaining their cultural and religious diversity. Osaghae teathes political science at ibadan university, nigeria, and is currently visiting professor at the babangida school, university of liberia. The original sin of ethiopian federalism 50 shades of. Peoples region the case of ethiopias southern nations.
Aalborg universitet restructuring state and society ethnic. How far ethnic federalism is a solution to problems of multiethnicity is yet to be seen. The constitutional decision to use ethnicity as a basis for the organisation of the state represents a recognition of the political relevance of ethnicity. They include some of the largest and most complex democracies india, the us, brazil, germany and mexico. Constitution, ethnic federalism and article 39 of the constitution that awarded the selfrule. To this end, the ethiopian constitution provides for ethnicfederal government as the principal institutional means for accommodating ethnic groups cultural, linguistic, and political claims. Though the pakistani federation fulfils minimum criteria of federalism but it operates more likely as a unitary system federal. This paper, which is to be published in the max planck encyclopedia of comparative constitutional law, discusses the definitions and criteria that have been used to identify and classify the various types of federal system. Particular attention is paid to how well ethnic federalism has satisfied its promises to en. Ethnic federalism has been exploited to plant division among ethnic groups so as to institutionalize and facilitate rule by the tplf and other politically affiliated groups, representing a small proportion of the population. Multiethnic multinational federalism in plural societies. Americans, those who live in the world s first and longestenduring federation, like federalism but tend to be against using it to give selfgovernment to distinct.
For amhara and national elites, ethnic federalism impedes a strong, unitary nation state. Today, federalism is increasingly suggested and applied as a politicalconstitutional mechanism to accommodate ethnic pluralism. This is despite recurrent scepticism about its desirability and appropriateness in a globalising world. Isajiw university of toronto paper presented at joint canadaunited states conference on themeasurement of ethnicity, ottawa, ontario, canada, april 2, 1992. The existing ethnic federal arrangement of eprdf is devised with the aim to accommodate the interests of distinct ethnic groups in ethiopia. Dec 07, 2017 ethnic federalism and conflict in ethiopia. Federalism is debatable not only in practice but also at theoretical levels. World war ii, however, the preferred approach for protecting the interests of these. From this point of view it describes the main types of modern federal state. Because most african countries are multiethnic, the ethiopian experiment with multiethnic federalism is of special interest.
Ethiopia adopted ethnic federalism and restructured the regions along ethnic lines as soon as the eprdf took political power by overthrowing the marxist military government in 1991. It is obvious that ethnic mobilization and political instability in pakistan is the result of discrepancy in the theory and practice of federal arrangements. Subsaharan africa is the scene of a quarter of the worlds conflicts conflict. This immediately raises a number of the complexities that beset this subject and that mechanistic discussions of it tend to ignore or obscure. The case of ethnicbased federalism in ethiopia journal of. After the end of the cold war era there is a drift in to reaffirmation of ethnic identity as a means of determining the public life of a society, the venture to ethnify federalism might be regarded as a. Federalism in a context of extreme ethnic pluralism. A the rationale for federalism federalism is offered as an institutional solution to the problems associated with scale and diversity.
Advantages and disadvantages of federalism advantages of federalism. In order to discuss federalism at a theoretical level at least, it is necessary to dene it. The current regime of ethiopia eprdf implemented ethnic federalism and reshaped the state along ethnic lines as soon as it assumes political power in 1991. The imperial period 1974 ethiopia is the only african state never colonised by a. Aregawi berhe introduction ethnic federalism is certainly a new system of governance in ethiopia, where a unitary structure was the. For ethnonational rebel groups like the onlf ogaden national liberation front. In this respect, many post colonial multiethnic countries of asia and africa adopted federalism. Federalism and state formation in myanmar state counselor daw aung san suu kyi center shares a stage with women of myanmars major ethnic groups after attending celebrations marking the 70th anniversary of union day in panglong, shan state, on feb. He uses two recent events to illustrate the supposed dangers posed by ethnic federalism. Ethnic federalism in a comparative perspective law ethiopia. Outside the developing world, yugoslavia and the ussr had constitutional.
Actors, power and mobiliza tion under ethnic federalism, is made up of a laconic preface, eight. Meles zenawi and his government adopted ethnic federalism to establish the equality of all ethnic. Supporters of ethnic federalism point out that it has maintained. The process and structures of ethnic federalism in ethiopia.
Learn more about the history and characteristics of federalism in this article. For switzerland, with its four national languages and its highly diverse geographical landscapes, federalism makes and important contribution to social cohesion. The continuing debate among social and political commentators over the utility of federalism. Dec 07, 2017 what then are the conflictpromoting applications of ethnic federalism in ethiopia. Developing country management ethnic conflict by participation and justice policy that the equality is the best way for resolve this problem. Teshomes partisan commentary is irresponsible, riddled with factual inaccuracies and removed from the reality as lived by the majority of ethiopians in 2017.
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