In the name of diversity: The disenfranchisement of citizens in an African Federation
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Date
2021
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Brill
Abstract
The empowerment of ethnic communities is the cornerstone of the constitutional arrangement of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. The
Constitution organises the state along ethnic lines by using ethnicity as the
primary basis to demarcate its internal boundaries. Ethnically defined autonomous subnational units are the basis for the organisation of the federation. At
the same time, the Constitution, like many other contemporary Constitutions,
provides for a vast array of individual rights. It declares equal commitment to
both individual rights and the right of ethnic communities to autonomy.
Despite the constitutional commitment to equally uphold the autonomy
of ethnic communities and individual rights, the constitutional practice, this
chapter argues, seems to give more weight to autonomy rights and frustrates
claims based on the right of an individual to equal treatment.
Description
Keywords
Diversity, Disenfranchisement of citizens, African federation, Ethnicity, Ethiopia
Citation
Fessha, Yonatan ‘In the name of diversity: The disenfranchisement of citizens in an African Federation’ in Eva Maria Belser et al, eds. The principle of equality in diverse states: Reconciling autonomy with equal rights and opportunities (Brill, 2021), 397-414