摘要：Ethiopia underwent a dramatic system-change after the defeat of the military regime that had ruled the country between 1974 and 1991. While Ethiopia is characterised by significant diversity in terms of ethnicity, language, culture and religion, its previous emperors, Menelik II and Haile Selassie, had subjected the country to the principle of "one language, one culture, one religion, one nation". Assimilation and suppression rather than integration were the governing principles. While the military regime, the so called Derg-regime, addressed some of the ethnic issues at the end of its rule, giving the populace democratic choices was not contemplated. After the military defeat of the Derg-regime, which was achieved through a coalition of ethnically-based armed groups, the principle of ethnic self-determination and a democratic order became preconditions for the maintenance of a polity within Ethiopia's boundaries, thus making space for diversity. Between 1991 and 1995 the country was governed on the basis of the "Transitional Charter", which held up to the self-determination principle and provided for decentralised organisation. Federalism was chosen as the glue to hold the country together, while the principle of self-determination was preserved within this system. The state-organisation has also had to respond to the need for development. For this reason a range of services have been decentralised from regional state level to district level, starting in 2001.
Loading...
