Study On The Ethnic Federalism Of Ethiopia,from 1991 To 2016

Ethnic problems have been one of the key factors to influence the government functioning and stability in African countries that adopt federalism.Ethiopia,an east African country located in the Horn of Africa,eventually chose a kind of federalism based on the ethnic groups as the fundamental political institution after experiencing thousands of years of feudal political system and the governance of military government afterwards,this kind of federalism had maintained the peace and stability of Ethiopia in the last 20 years,making Ethiopia become one of the most energetic economies which didn' t rely on energy resources.The paper reviews the ethnic policies in the period of rule of imperial system and military government,analyzes the specific contents and effects of ethnic policies in different historical times as well as relations among ethnic groups behind different contexts of ethnic policies.The paper puts emphasis on analyzing the causes,institutional arrangements for Ethiopia to adopt the ethnic federalism and the role that the ruling party has played in the political system since Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front(EPRDF)took power in 1991.Also,the paper takes Somali State as an example,discussing the practical effects and characteristic of ethnic federalism.