A critique of building a developmental state in the EPRDF's Ethiopia

ABSTRACT This article explores the main features of Ethiopia's ‘developmental state’ and takes a critical look at how the model is applied in practice, capturing parallels and contradictions through comparative evidence with that of the East Asia model. Accordingly, it notes that the East Asian model has a strong ideological influence on the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) regime, allowing it to formulate a strong vision of development, but this, although it contributed to economic growth, failed to ensure democracy and stability in the country. It argues that land grabbing and political instability are the biggest threats to Ethiopia's development prospects.