Abstract
This article analyses state-society relations in Ethiopia with particular emphasis on the post-1991 period. The objective of the study is to identify and analyse the fundamental factors of state-society relations at the national level: property rights, political representation, and the urban-rural elite cleavage. The article views state-society relations at the local level with reference to perception and practice, taking into account symbols, social control, ability to make decisions and control over the means of violence. The study was conducted in eight purposively selected localities in three administrative regions in Ethiopia. The empirical data was collected at national and local levels using key informant interviews, focus group discussions, and a household survey. The analysis shows that state-society relations in Ethiopia are driven by three major factors: property rights, political representations and the urban-rural divide.
Highlights
The top–down nature of modern state formation and nation building in Ethiopia has been much discussed
The society would not get the opportunity to choose the type of political system and would not be able to limit the jurisdictional power of the state
This article, as stated elsewhere, seeks to explore an emerging trend of state–society relations inpost-1991 Ethiopia. This period is remarkable in Ethiopian politics for the following reasons: firstly, the second republic was established by replacing the centralist military state with an ethnicity-based federal political structure
Summary
The top–down nature of modern state formation and nation building in Ethiopia has been much discussed. Jimma represents the cash crop-based livelihood, grown on amid land agro-climatic zone, where the predominantly Muslim Oromo ethnic group makes up the majority in ORS. They represent one of the largest ethnic groups in Ethiopia. Deberberhan area represents a grain crop-based livelihood, made possible by low and highland agro-climatic zones, where the Amhara ethnic group is the majority and predominantly Orthodox. The third section provides an analytical account of the post-1991 political dynamics, which sets the context to discuss state-society relations in Ethiopia.
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