Contested Power in Ethiopia: Traditional Authorities and Multi-Party Elections (African Social Studies, 27)

Drawing on nine case studies, this book offers a comparative ethnography of the contested powers that shape democratization in Ethiopia. Focusing on the competitive 2005 elections, the authors analyze how customary leaders, political parties and state officials confronted each other during election time. Introduction: Traditional Authorities And Multi-party Elections In Ethiopia / Kjetil Tronvoll & Tobias Hagmann -- Electoral Politics In The Nuer Cultural Context / Dereje Feyissa -- Fishing For Votes In The Somali Region: Clan Elders, Bureaucrats And Party Politics In The 2005 Elections / Tobias Hagmann -- The Family Connection: Inherited Status And Parliamentary Elections In Dawro, Southern Ethiopia / Data Dea Barata -- A Revival Of Tradition? The Power Of Clans And Social Strata In The Wolayta Elections / Lovise Aalen -- Cynicism And Hope: Urban Youth And Relations Of Power During The 2005 Ethiopian Elections / Daniel Mains -- Islam And Politics: The Eprdf, The 2005 Elections And Muslim Institutions In Bale / Terje Ostebo -- We Say They Are Neftenya; They Say We Are Olf': A Post-election Assessment Of Ethnicity, Politics And Age-sets In Oromiya / Charles Schaefer -- Customary Institutions In Contemporary Politics In Borana Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia / Marco Bassi -- The 2005 Elections In Maale: A Reassertion Of Traditional Authority Or The Extension Of A Nascent Public Sphere? / Donald L. Donham -- Epilogue: The 'new' Ethiopia: Changing Discourses Of Democracy / Kjetil Tronvoll. Edited By Kjetil Tronvoll, Tobias Hagmann. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This book offers a comparative ethnography of the contested powers that shape democratization in Ethiopia. Although multi-party elections have become the norm in Africa, relatively little is known about the significance of non-state actors such as traditional authorities in electioneering. Focusing on Ethiopia's competitive 2005 elections, this book analyzes how customary leaders, political parties and state officials confronted and complemented each other during election time. Case studies reveal the contemporaneousness of traditional authorities in modern politics, but also how multi-party competition reproduces traditional relations of domination among ethnic groups. The book documents the importance of customary authority in selecting party candidates and providing legitimacy to political parties, but also their limitations in a country dominated by a semi-authoritarian party-state.