The Emerging Democratic Developmental State in Post 1991 Ethiopia

Inspired by the success stories of the East Asian development, achieved under authoritarian state-lead development, otherwise known as developmental states(DSs) and informed by the need for democratic governance, the incumbent government of Ethiopia is one of few governments that has expressly committed itself to building a democratic developmental state (DDS), particularly since the early 2000s. However, little is known about what has been done in search of building such a state as per the promise. This book examines the attempts that have been made in search of building DDS in post 1991 Ethiopia, and identifies the associated challenges. The common defining features of DSs identified by the 2011 Economic Report on Africa and the simultaneity theory (which suggests economic development and democracy can go in tandem), were used as lenses through which the analysis was conducted. And, we found that, though still at an emerging stage, Ethiopia depicts the common defining features of DSs and has the potential to be DDS.