Ethnic Federalism and Development: Promises and Pitfalls for Ethiopia's Future

The current government adopted ethnic federalism to respond to the national question that has been recurring in the country's political landscape since the 1960s. To the contrary, the existing ethnic federalism is alleged as maliciously designed by the ruling government to plant divisions among ethnic groups so as to facilitate its ruling by manipulating ethnic identities and conflicts to stay in power. The contradictory interpretations of Ethiopian history resorted by the elites since the revolution has been impacting all through on the armed struggle as well as the democratic political mobilizations in the country. The students' movement which significantly inspired by Marxist- Leninist tradition of the national question as developed by Stalin had impacted the current ethnic-federalism of Ethiopia. The EPRDF's unilateral intervention in the state matters has undermined the constitutional principles and powers of the units. Above all, elite's manipulative move caused conflicts, and ethnic-autochthonism has been eroding the potential agendas of unity in diversity and national integration in Ethiopia.