In this thesis the question of how the social factors of language, education and territorial concentration influence the seeking of voice at the center and/or at the periphery. This question was...Show moreIn this thesis the question of how the social factors of language, education and territorial concentration influence the seeking of voice at the center and/or at the periphery. This question was asked in the context of Ethiopia with a specific focus on one of its multi-ethnic regions, Benishangul-Gumuz by qualitatively assessing the documented evidence of the respective groups’ voice seeking behaviors. The analysis of the Ethiopian Constitution as well as the country’s distinct history implied that the selected social variables -interacting with the constitutional provisions of Amarigna as a central language, partially weak guarantees for group representation and the constitutional promise of self-rule- might influence the voice-seeking behavior of groups differently. Firstly, groups not speaking the official language as their mother tongue tend to concentrate their voice-seeking efforts in the periphery. Secondly, groups with lower educational levels appear to be more likely to demand proportionality in institutions not subject to guaranteed group representation, whereas higher educated groups tend to at least not support such demands. Finally, territorially concentrated groups potentially controlling their own territory seem to be more likely to seek a greater group voice whilst more dispersed groups sharing their territory tend to refrain from doing so.Show less
From 1991 and onwards, Ethiopia has gone through a political transition using ethnicity as the fundamental principle for organizing a federal government. The transition of this change ended in the...Show moreFrom 1991 and onwards, Ethiopia has gone through a political transition using ethnicity as the fundamental principle for organizing a federal government. The transition of this change ended in the newly elected government in August 1995. The country is divided into nine separate federal states based on ethnic identity. The change of the political structure of the country has been radical and pioneering. Radical, in the sense that Ethiopia used to be a centralized and unitary state. Pioneering, in the sense that it has gone further than any African state, and further than 'almost any other state worldwide' (Clapham 2002: 27) in using ethnicity as the principle for organizing the federal state system (Turton 2006: 1). This change was meant to mark a beginning for a more democratized society after decades of political suppression and authoritarianism. Thus, this radical and pioneering, yet fundamental change in the society was received with hopefulness of a better and more democratic tomorrow in Ethiopia. This thesis will look at how the Ethiopian quest for democratization has succeeded.Show less
