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Abstract
Ethnic decentralization which could emerge in the form of autonomy and/or federalism has become an important way of responding to the challenges of ethno-nationalist conflicts. Since 1991, Ethiopia has adopted an ethnic federal structure which provides territorial autonomy to its various ethnic groups. This approach to autonomy, however, has brought challenges to multiethnic cities and ethnic borderlands where different ethnic groups coexist. By examining the experience of Dire Dawa, the second largest city in Ethiopia, this article shows how federalism and territorial autonomy by themselves are not enough to address problems of participatory governance in multiethnic cities. The article finally underscores the need for policy innovations that would ensure power-sharing in multiethnic cities.
Acknowledgements
The author likes to thank Yonas Ashine for his assistance in data collection, the anonymous reviewer of the journal, and the editor of the special issue for their useful comments.
Funding
This research was supported by the Swiss National Center of Competence in Research (NCCR) North-South: Research Project 5 ‘Negotiating Statehood in Post-conflict Africa’ to which the author was affiliated as a post-doctoral researcher.
Notes
1 The 1995 federal constitution (art. 20/5) defines “nations, nationalities and peoples” as “A group of people who have or share a large measure of common culture or similar customs, mutual intelligibility of language, belief in a common or related identities, a common psychological make-up, and who inhabit an identifiable, predominantly contiguous territory.” But for ease of understanding, in this article we use the term ethnic groups.
2 The nine regions of the federation include: Tigray, Afar, Amhara, Oromia, South Nations, Nationalities and Peoples (SNNP), Somali (recently renamed as Ethiopia Somali), Harari, Benishangul-Gumuz and Gambella.
3 The newly incorporated territories in the wake of the expansion by Emperor Menelik which was completed at the beginning of the twentieth century are found in the south, west and east of the country. For more, see Bahru (Citation1991) and Markakis (Citation1974).
4 Derg, an Amharic-Geez word for a committee, refers to the Provisional Military Administrative Council (PMAC) that ruled Ethiopia from 1974–91.
5 The Ethiopian Peoples’ Revolutionary Front (EPRDF) is a coalition of four ethnic-based political movements, i.e. the dominant Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the Amhara National Democratic Movement (ANDM); the Oromo People Democratic Organization (OPDO); and the Southern Ethiopian Peoples’ Democratic Movement (SEPDM).
6 EPRDF affiliated parties are in charge of the following regions: Somali (Somali Democratic Party/SPDP); Afar (Afar People Democratic Organization/APDP); Harari (Harari National League/HNL and OPDO), Gambella (Gambella Peoples’ Democratic Movement/GPDM) and Benishangul-Gumuz (Benishangul Gumuz People's Democratic Unity Front/BGPDUF).
7 The data for this study were collected through fieldwork that was undertaken in Dire Dawa in May and June 2011 and in July and August 2012. Accordingly, dozens of key informant interviews and focus group discussions were held with officials of the Dire Dawa city administration and purposively selected informants from the claimant (titular) groups, namely, Oromo, Gurgura, and Issa (Somali) and non-titular groups such as Amhara, Gurage, and others. Additionally, government archives and reports, newspaper and magazine articles, and published and unpublished academic works were used.
8 The concept is borrowed from (Slezkine, Citation1996).
9 Khat (Catha edulis) is a stimulant plant endemic to the Horn of Africa. It is widely used (chewed) in Ethiopia, Somalia, and Djibouti as a mild stimulant.
10 Abyssinian (Habesha) is not an ethnic category. It, however, refers to the northern ethnic groups Amhara and Tigray.
11 This may refer to people from different Somali and Oromo clans.
12 During the war, Dire Dawa was besieged by Somali forces and was fervently defended by Ethiopian forces. For a detailed account of the war see (Gebru, Citation2000).
13 Kebele is an administrative structure below the district (woreda in Amharic). It was introduced as the lowest tier of local government by the military regime in 1975. It refers to rural and urban neighbourhood associations. In the present local and regional government system, kebele serves as the lowest tier of local government just below the woreda.
14 The gadda could be described as an egalitarian socio-political organization based on age-groups (see Asmarom, Citation1973).
15 Capital. (2013), Special Economic Zones to be Established, Capital, September 4.
16 Addis Fortune. (2012), Dire Dawa to Open its Second Cement Factory, Addis Fortune, Vol.13, No.652, October 28.
17 Daniel, B. (2008), Dire Dawa ena Ye Federalu Beizeeta [Amharic] (The federal government's confusion over Dire Dawa), Addis Neger Newspaper, Tir, 10, 2000 Ethiopian Calendar.