Incorporating ‘‘Democratic Developmental State Ideology’’ into Ethiopia’s Ethnic Federalism – A Contradiction?

The ruling Ethiopia’s People Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) has adopted a mix of two ideologies called “Democratic Developmental State” (democracy from the dominant west), and Developmental State Ideology (from the east), initially under the leadership of the late Prime Minister, Meles Zenawi. Thus, this desk research paper aims to analyze the adoption of developmental state ideology within the existing federal structure of the state, whether or not it is contradictory to the 1995 Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Constitution, and assess its implication to the autonomy of regional states. Accordingly, the study concludes that the adoption of this ideology amounts to a change of constitution, and state structure from federal to unitary. The state governments would be under a visible shadow of the federal government where the states would serve merely as agents of the federal government, and their autonomy would be degraded significantly.