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Part II
The future of the future country
18 January, 2010 | Prof. Alemayehu G/Mariam
Reinventing Ethiopian Politics
train careening down a steep gorge without an engineer. People are
starving. The economy is in shambles. Human rights violations are
widespread. There is no rule of law. Corruption is endemic; and misery
is a fact of daily life. Many have given up on politics believing that the
country is in the iron clutches of “evil forces”, and pray for rescue
through divine intervention. The average person in Ethiopia is a
walking tale of woe and misery. A good segment of the civically active
and potentially active community in exile is turned off by what they
perceive to be the politics of endless recriminations, accusations,
labeling, name-calling and finger-pointing. Ethiopian “Diaspora” politics
is viewed by some as an exercise in self-indulgence at best, and not
infrequently cannibalistic.
The discourse in contemporary Ethiopian politics undoubtedly has a
sharp edge to it. It tends to be confrontational and adversarial, which
serves its own purposes. It is also preoccupied by exertion of moral
outrage over the general decline of the country. Rightly so, the moral
bankruptcy, criminality, ineptitude, abuse of power, corruption and
decadence of the current dictatorial regime has been laid out for the
world to see. Much is written and said about the palace intrigues and
behind-the-scenes maneuvers in the dictator’s lair. But the political
discourse has yet to produce a clear, convincing and coherent
alternative to the total and unmitigated mess created by the current
dictatorship. In short, no one has stepped forward to articulate and
define a brave new vision of a better future for the people of Ethiopia.
The current state of affairs in Ethiopia calls for the reinvention of
politics in the democratic opposition by disconnecting from the self-
destructive politics of the past and overwrought politics of the present,
and connecting to a new politics of the future which transcends
partisanship, ethnicity, ideology, language, region and so on. This
reinvention requires several things: a paradigm shift in political thought
and behavior, a radical change in perspective, a new approach and
lexicon for political communication and a redefinition of the issues
within a broader national agenda. It calls for politics that is
“compassion-centered” and pragmatically oriented to creatively solving
the entrenched problems of governance.
What is needed to begin the “reinvention” of Ethiopian politics? The
“reinvention” is a multi-step process whose ultimate aim is to cultivate
a true democratic civic culture shared by all Ethiopians. Step 1 begins
with a clear understanding of the current situation so that we need not
spend any more time trying to convert a one-man, one-party
dictatorship into a genuine multiparty system, or even wasting time
talking about it. As one can not change copper into gold, neither can
one change dictators into democrats. What is it that we need to clearly
understand about the current dictatorship before we begin the task of
reinventing the Ethiopian politics of the future?
The answer is not complicated. The dictators of Ethiopia are trapped in
a historical time warp. They have clutched the reigns of state for two
decades and ostentatiously display the trappings of political power and
wealth. But they have not been able to transform “bushcraft” into
statecraft as recent scholarship by one of the original founders of the
party-in-dictatorship today has shown. In their armed campaign
against the Derg junta, decision-making was left in the hands of the
few. The few leaders exercised raw, brute power over their followers
and the communities they controlled. They silenced dissent and
criticism ruthlessly, and leaders who disagreed were marginalized,
labeled as traitors and removed. Everything was done in secrecy.
Power was understood not as a public duty but as a means of self-
enrichment, political patronage and intimidation. Leadership meant the
cult of personality. The best they have been able to do is to transform
the “politics of the bush” fighting the Derg into a one-man, one-party
state, whose guiding motto is, “What is good for the TPLF/EPDRF is
good for Ethiopia!”
The transition from “bushcraft” to statecraft requires tectonic
transformations. Democratic statecraft requires an appreciation,
understanding and application of basic democratic principles such as
the rule of law, separation of powers, checks and balances and
constitutionalism in the governance process. The dictators have little
experience with or practical understanding of such principles. It is
illogical for anyone to expect them to institutionalize accountability
which they never had or experienced in their political lives. They never
had free elections in the bush; and it is no wonder that they were totally
surprised when they got thumped in the 2005 elections. Upholding the
rule of law is absurd to them because they believe themselves to be
THE LAW. The idea of an independent judiciary and impartial
administration of justice is alien to them because they have no
understanding or practical experience with due process. They scoff at
civil liberties and civil rights as Western luxuries because they never
lived in a system where the powers of government are constitutionally
subordinated to the rights of the individual. In short, it is wishful
thinking to expect from them the kind of statecraft necessary for
democratic governance.
Reinventing politics means learning the lessons of the past and present
and transforming the current political culture of oppression and
corruption into a genuine future democratic civic culture. It means
finding creative ways of replacing the climate of silence and fear with a
culture of free expression, deliberation and debate and tolerance of
dissent and divergent viewpoints.
There are many ways of reinventing Ethiopian politics. One approach is
to adapt the model of the American civil rights movement. That
movement was not aimed at seizing political power; rather it sought to
organize, mobilize and channel basic popular disaffection on
fundamental issues of civil and human rights. It was a movement
guided by the idea of empowering ordinary people. From the outset, it
was an inclusive movement. The maids, street cleaners, clergymen,
doctors, lawyers and bankers participated equally in the movement and
took ownership of their collective destiny. The religious institutions
were the centers of “civic democracy” as they mobilized the
community to be involved in the struggle for civil rights. Young people
got involved in large numbers and became the vanguard of the
movement. The NAACP led the legal battles in the courts.
There is a special burden on all Ethiopians, and particularly the exiled
intellectual community to lend assistance in getting the process off the
ground. It is to be acknowledged that there are the “old” and “new”
generation of Ethiopian intellectuals in exile. Many in the “old”
generation have bit their tongues in public. They have withdrawn from
public debate turned off by what they perceive to be uncivil dialogue.
There are also the “new” generation of intellectuals who circulate their
brilliant scholarly papers, research studies and analysis on various
facets of Ethiopian society for review but do not necessarily see the
need to share it with the wider public in a manner accessible to those
without a technical background. It is vital that both generations be
involved and directly engage the public in envisioning the future of the
future country. They must come out of self-imposed censorship and
share their extraordinary knowledge and innovative ideas with the rest
of us.
Without the involvement of progressive Ethiopian intellectuals, it would
be difficult to nurture and cultivate a vigorous civic culture that will
enable us to envision a dynamic, pluralistic and inclusive society of the
future. Most importantly, they can be sources of creative and
innovative ideas that will be needed to make the transition from ethnic-
building to nation-building and help empower each Ethiopian to forego
ethnic identity for a new national democratic identity based on a shared
history of suffering oppression and a common conviction for a shared
destiny. In the meantime, their participation is needed to inform and
elevate the contemporary debate and in speaking truth to power.
In the final analysis, reinventing Ethiopian politics is about redefining
the problem of politics not merely as competition for political power
but as a process of developing a democratic civic culture and
strengthening the moral fiber of ordinary citizens to take collective
responsibility and perform their individual civic duties. None of these
seem strange to the shameless idealist and audacious optimist who
thinks everything is possible and nothing is impossible, and believes
with every fiber in his body that Ethiopia can be a utopia!
[1]“The Future of the Future Country” is serialized set of special
commentaries written by the author in honor of Ethiopia’s
foremost political prisoner Birtukan Midekssa. Birtukan, the first
woman leader of a political party in Ethiopia’s history, is an
individual of extraordinary intelligence, integrity, courage and
fortitude. Her favorite aphorism is, “Ethiopia is the country of the
future.”
Alemayehu G. Mariam, is a professor of political science at
California State University, San Bernardino, and an attorney
based in Los Angeles. He writes a regular blog on The
Huffington Post, and his commentaries appear regularly on
Pambazuka News and New American Media.
The future of the future country
18 January, 2010 | Prof. Alemayehu G/Mariam
Reinventing Ethiopian Politics
- Aristotle wrote that “man is a
political animal” to suggest that the
defining characteristic of human
beings is involvement in the civic
life of their communities. Today,
many Ethiopians across the board
are strangely disengaged and
alienated from Ethiopian politics.
For the “alienated majority”, the
disengagement is justified. They
train careening down a steep gorge without an engineer. People are
starving. The economy is in shambles. Human rights violations are
widespread. There is no rule of law. Corruption is endemic; and misery
is a fact of daily life. Many have given up on politics believing that the
country is in the iron clutches of “evil forces”, and pray for rescue
through divine intervention. The average person in Ethiopia is a
walking tale of woe and misery. A good segment of the civically active
and potentially active community in exile is turned off by what they
perceive to be the politics of endless recriminations, accusations,
labeling, name-calling and finger-pointing. Ethiopian “Diaspora” politics
is viewed by some as an exercise in self-indulgence at best, and not
infrequently cannibalistic.
The discourse in contemporary Ethiopian politics undoubtedly has a
sharp edge to it. It tends to be confrontational and adversarial, which
serves its own purposes. It is also preoccupied by exertion of moral
outrage over the general decline of the country. Rightly so, the moral
bankruptcy, criminality, ineptitude, abuse of power, corruption and
decadence of the current dictatorial regime has been laid out for the
world to see. Much is written and said about the palace intrigues and
behind-the-scenes maneuvers in the dictator’s lair. But the political
discourse has yet to produce a clear, convincing and coherent
alternative to the total and unmitigated mess created by the current
dictatorship. In short, no one has stepped forward to articulate and
define a brave new vision of a better future for the people of Ethiopia.
The current state of affairs in Ethiopia calls for the reinvention of
politics in the democratic opposition by disconnecting from the self-
destructive politics of the past and overwrought politics of the present,
and connecting to a new politics of the future which transcends
partisanship, ethnicity, ideology, language, region and so on. This
reinvention requires several things: a paradigm shift in political thought
and behavior, a radical change in perspective, a new approach and
lexicon for political communication and a redefinition of the issues
within a broader national agenda. It calls for politics that is
“compassion-centered” and pragmatically oriented to creatively solving
the entrenched problems of governance.
What is needed to begin the “reinvention” of Ethiopian politics? The
“reinvention” is a multi-step process whose ultimate aim is to cultivate
a true democratic civic culture shared by all Ethiopians. Step 1 begins
with a clear understanding of the current situation so that we need not
spend any more time trying to convert a one-man, one-party
dictatorship into a genuine multiparty system, or even wasting time
talking about it. As one can not change copper into gold, neither can
one change dictators into democrats. What is it that we need to clearly
understand about the current dictatorship before we begin the task of
reinventing the Ethiopian politics of the future?
The answer is not complicated. The dictators of Ethiopia are trapped in
a historical time warp. They have clutched the reigns of state for two
decades and ostentatiously display the trappings of political power and
wealth. But they have not been able to transform “bushcraft” into
statecraft as recent scholarship by one of the original founders of the
party-in-dictatorship today has shown. In their armed campaign
against the Derg junta, decision-making was left in the hands of the
few. The few leaders exercised raw, brute power over their followers
and the communities they controlled. They silenced dissent and
criticism ruthlessly, and leaders who disagreed were marginalized,
labeled as traitors and removed. Everything was done in secrecy.
Power was understood not as a public duty but as a means of self-
enrichment, political patronage and intimidation. Leadership meant the
cult of personality. The best they have been able to do is to transform
the “politics of the bush” fighting the Derg into a one-man, one-party
state, whose guiding motto is, “What is good for the TPLF/EPDRF is
good for Ethiopia!”
The transition from “bushcraft” to statecraft requires tectonic
transformations. Democratic statecraft requires an appreciation,
understanding and application of basic democratic principles such as
the rule of law, separation of powers, checks and balances and
constitutionalism in the governance process. The dictators have little
experience with or practical understanding of such principles. It is
illogical for anyone to expect them to institutionalize accountability
which they never had or experienced in their political lives. They never
had free elections in the bush; and it is no wonder that they were totally
surprised when they got thumped in the 2005 elections. Upholding the
rule of law is absurd to them because they believe themselves to be
THE LAW. The idea of an independent judiciary and impartial
administration of justice is alien to them because they have no
understanding or practical experience with due process. They scoff at
civil liberties and civil rights as Western luxuries because they never
lived in a system where the powers of government are constitutionally
subordinated to the rights of the individual. In short, it is wishful
thinking to expect from them the kind of statecraft necessary for
democratic governance.
Reinventing politics means learning the lessons of the past and present
and transforming the current political culture of oppression and
corruption into a genuine future democratic civic culture. It means
finding creative ways of replacing the climate of silence and fear with a
culture of free expression, deliberation and debate and tolerance of
dissent and divergent viewpoints.
There are many ways of reinventing Ethiopian politics. One approach is
to adapt the model of the American civil rights movement. That
movement was not aimed at seizing political power; rather it sought to
organize, mobilize and channel basic popular disaffection on
fundamental issues of civil and human rights. It was a movement
guided by the idea of empowering ordinary people. From the outset, it
was an inclusive movement. The maids, street cleaners, clergymen,
doctors, lawyers and bankers participated equally in the movement and
took ownership of their collective destiny. The religious institutions
were the centers of “civic democracy” as they mobilized the
community to be involved in the struggle for civil rights. Young people
got involved in large numbers and became the vanguard of the
movement. The NAACP led the legal battles in the courts.
There is a special burden on all Ethiopians, and particularly the exiled
intellectual community to lend assistance in getting the process off the
ground. It is to be acknowledged that there are the “old” and “new”
generation of Ethiopian intellectuals in exile. Many in the “old”
generation have bit their tongues in public. They have withdrawn from
public debate turned off by what they perceive to be uncivil dialogue.
There are also the “new” generation of intellectuals who circulate their
brilliant scholarly papers, research studies and analysis on various
facets of Ethiopian society for review but do not necessarily see the
need to share it with the wider public in a manner accessible to those
without a technical background. It is vital that both generations be
involved and directly engage the public in envisioning the future of the
future country. They must come out of self-imposed censorship and
share their extraordinary knowledge and innovative ideas with the rest
of us.
Without the involvement of progressive Ethiopian intellectuals, it would
be difficult to nurture and cultivate a vigorous civic culture that will
enable us to envision a dynamic, pluralistic and inclusive society of the
future. Most importantly, they can be sources of creative and
innovative ideas that will be needed to make the transition from ethnic-
building to nation-building and help empower each Ethiopian to forego
ethnic identity for a new national democratic identity based on a shared
history of suffering oppression and a common conviction for a shared
destiny. In the meantime, their participation is needed to inform and
elevate the contemporary debate and in speaking truth to power.
In the final analysis, reinventing Ethiopian politics is about redefining
the problem of politics not merely as competition for political power
but as a process of developing a democratic civic culture and
strengthening the moral fiber of ordinary citizens to take collective
responsibility and perform their individual civic duties. None of these
seem strange to the shameless idealist and audacious optimist who
thinks everything is possible and nothing is impossible, and believes
with every fiber in his body that Ethiopia can be a utopia!
[1]“The Future of the Future Country” is serialized set of special
commentaries written by the author in honor of Ethiopia’s
foremost political prisoner Birtukan Midekssa. Birtukan, the first
woman leader of a political party in Ethiopia’s history, is an
individual of extraordinary intelligence, integrity, courage and
fortitude. Her favorite aphorism is, “Ethiopia is the country of the
future.”
Alemayehu G. Mariam, is a professor of political science at
California State University, San Bernardino, and an attorney
based in Los Angeles. He writes a regular blog on The
Huffington Post, and his commentaries appear regularly on
Pambazuka News and New American Media.
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