Ethiopian Journals Online (EJOL)
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Women's participation in political leadership and decision-making in Ethiopia: A research note
No full textIn many parts of the world, women are either excluded or marginalized from higher level political arrangments. Indeed, the proportion of men elected and appointed as political leaders and decision makers compared to women in the same position is highly skewed, with men overwelmingly dominating the political field across the board. Prior research suggests that the situation in Ethiopia is not different, with women undoubtdly underrepresented with in different political organizations and institutions. This reasearch note, based mainly on avialable and relevant books, articles, research papers and other documentary materials, is designed to provide information on the participation of women in Ethiopian politics and government- an issue which has become lately a subject of intense interst among social scientists. The note begins by examining the participation of women in political leadership and decision-making in the world generally and in Africa particularly. It then survey critically the actual participation of women at the top level of Ethiopia's political parties and government institutions, followed by a discussion of ostacles to such participation. Finally, it puts forward a conclusion followed by a set of recommendations that will help in the elaboration of measures to overcome existing obstacles and to increase womesn's participation
Academic freedom and the development of higher education in Ethiopia: the case of Addis Ababa University 1950-2005 synopsis of a PhD dissertation
No full textDOI: 10.4314/ejossah.v3i2.2987
Book Review: Africa's Elusive Quest for Development
No full textTitle of the Book: Africa's Elusive Quest for Development
Author: Mathurin C. Houngnikpo
Publisher: Palgrave (Macmillan)
Year of publication: 200
Globalization and Identity/Locality Formation: Beyond the “Homo-Hetero” Debate
No full textThis short article tries to problematize a commonplace discourse in the sociology of globalization, viz., the problem of identity or locality formation. After briefly traversing the two major camps in the field—the “homogenizers’” and the “heterogenizers’”--it finally seeks a way out of this predicament, which it assumes to be virtually untenable. It rather attempts to demonstrate the validity of the insight of those recent scholars who emphasized that “the local” and “the global” are neither strictly distinct nor necessarily contradictory. The term “glocalization” can best stand for such reasoning. This is briefly exemplified by the nature and incidence of one ubiquitous phenomenon in our world: nationalism
Defying the System: The Forgotten Rebellion of Abbaa Xoonee in Wallagga
No full textThe 1950s and the 1960s were crucial periods for the general African situation because it marked the advent of decolonization and eventual independence of the majority of the colonized peoples of the continent. At this time the pressure of independence and selfdetermination attained by other African countries and peoples has also been felt among the subjugated nations and nationalities in the empire-state of Ethiopia. In the 1950s and 1960s, several peasant rebellions took place in Ethiopia against the feudal regime of Emperor Hayla Sellase. Some of the major reasons of these turbulent rebellions in addition to conquest and subjugation of the last quarter of the nineteenth century included the imperial land and taxation policies as well as administrative injustice perpetrated against the peasant populations of the core regions and the peripheries. It was in the decades that followed the expulsion of the Italians from Ethiopia and the return of Emperor Hayla Sellase to power in 1941 that some of the rebellions such as the First Wayane Rebellion, the Gojjame Peasant Uprising and the Bale Peasant Revolt had occurred. All these discontents were suppressed by force of arms in which many lives were lost. It is significant to note that these rebellions have been more or less extensively dealt with by many Ethiopianist scholars. Moreover, the 1960 coup attempt led by the two brothers, Mengistu and Germame Neway has also been treated properly by the same writers. But unfortunately, the armed rebellion of most of the Nilo-Saharan peripheral peoples in western Wallagga which took place in 1945 E.C (1952/53 G.C) has been forgotten. This paper attempts to highlight the causes and the consequences of the Abbaa Xoonee rebellion. It will explain who Abba Xoonee was and what had happened to him when the rebellion was put down. It will also pay tribute to Abba Xoonee for he challenged the feudal oppression and exploitation exercised by Hayla Sellase’s regime on his people without any social and economic benefits in return. The paper is largely based on oral sources, such as folklore and poems supplemented by some written accounts and circumstantial evidence
Causes and Trajectories of Local Conflict among Pastoral Peoples in North East Africa
No full textPastorilaist (herding) societies in Africa are claimed to be prone to violence due to structural conditions of environmental vulnerability, scarcity of resources and decentralized socio-political organization. Their contact with expanding state structures, and with neighboring groups in different socio-economic conditions, are seen to add to instability, due to the underlying hegemonic project of national states, while major economic and demographic changes also play a role. This paper presents a comparative overview of general factors that come into play in the ‘production of conflict’ in and between pastoral societies, focusing on Northeast Africa. It is contended that while conflict was a regular feature of life in traditional pastoral societies, its nature and frequency have notably changed in the confrontation with state forces, whereby unresolved tensions between traditional and ‘modern’ judicial conflict regulation mechanisms play a role. External agencies approach these pastoral societies in conflict without paying proper attention to the larger political-economic context in which they operate and which constrains them in a political and ideological sense. Some case examples are adduced to make this point. These and other case studies reveal that structural instability in contemporary pastoral societies is usually not properly interpreted by outside agencies and is not easily ‘resolved’. The paper concludes with a general model or checklist of conditions and factors of conflict production in pastoral societies
The Derg-SPLM/A Cooperation: An Aspect of Ethio-Sudan Proxy Wars
No full textThe warm and friendly Ethio-Sudan diplomatic relations that followed Sudan’s independence in 1956 and the long standing frontier trade between the two countries have been severely damaged by the outbreak of civil wars in southern Sudan in 1955 as well as in Eritrea in 1962. As the civil wars intensified in both countries, the influx of refugees and insurgents across their common border took place. Internal political and socio-economic problems in Ethiopia and the Sudan, together with super-power rivalries in the Horn brought about periods of increasing hostilities between the two countries. On a tit for tat basis, both the Imperial and military governments of Ethiopia and the successive governments of the Sudan came to encourage and assist cross-border guerrilla forces from either side. Thus, animosity rather than cooperation characterized relations between the Sudan and Ethiopia until the fall of the Derg in 1991
Habermas and the Other Side of Modernity
No full textThis essay tries to critique the concept of modernity through a discussion of Jürgen Habermas’ communicative rationality and modernity as an unfinished project. Habermas tried to defend modernity conceived as communicative rationality by strengthening everyday communicative action against the instrumental rationality of the economy and the state. After considering the insights of transmodernist, African, feminist and intercultural thinkers on modernity, I will try to show how the conventional understanding of modernity as progressive and reflective fails to fully address issues of otherness and domination
Subjective Quality of Life and Perceived Adequacy of Social Support among the Elderly in Arbaminch Town
No full textCultural discourse in Ethiopia appears to retain mixed attitudes about life in the latter years. There is on the one hand, a portrayal of the elderly as socially valued, privileged, respected, and supported. On the other hand, there is a conception that links aging and retirement with sickness, inability, helplessness, and dependency (“ke areju aiyebeju”) and going down the hill. However, academic discourse is only emerging and there is a lot more to be done to uncover what it really feels like to be an elderly in Ethiopia. One such major concern pertains to the very general experiences of life of the elderly and associated factors. The purpose of this study was then to specifically assess the subjective quality of life and perceived adequacy of social support and the possible socio-demographic factors making differences in quality of life. Data were collected through questionnaire administered to a sample of 360 elderly (aged 60 and over) in Arbaminch Town. Data analysis was made through descriptive statistics, one-samplemean test, bivariate correlation analysis, multiple regression, and the forward stepwise variant of multiple regression analysis. Findings indicated that very few elderly had a high quality of life, but the majority had either low or moderate quality of life. Perceived adequacy of social support also took the same pattern contrary to the expectation that the elderly in “developing nations” are believed to enjoy extended social support. Attempts to explain this profile of the elderly yielded that perceived social support and income were indeed the strongest predictors generally explaining about fifty percent of the variance in self-ratings of subjective quality of life. Hence, it was suggested that there is a need to explore other potent factors that would do the remaining fifty percent of the explaining. Other recommendations were also suggested to better address the problem in the future
Love and Justice: The Foundations of Gudina Tumsa’s Social Engagement and Leadership
No full textCultural discourse in Ethiopia appears to retain mixed attitudes about life in the latter years. There is on the one hand, a portrayal of the elderly as socially valued, privileged, respected, and supported. On the other hand, there is a conception that links aging and retirement with sickness, inability, helplessness, and dependency (“ke areju aiyebeju”) and going down the hill. However, academic discourse is only emerging and there is a lot more to be done to uncover what it really feels like to be an elderly in Ethiopia. One such major concern pertains to the very general experiences of life of the elderly and associated factors. The purpose of this study was then to specifically assess the subjective quality of life and perceived adequacy of social support and the possible socio-demographic factors making differences in quality of life. Data were collected through questionnaire administered to a sample of 360 elderly (aged 60 and over) in Arbaminch Town. Data analysis was made through descriptive statistics, one-samplemean test, bivariate correlation analysis, multiple regression, and the forward stepwise variant of multiple regression analysis. Findings indicated that very few elderly had a high quality of life, but the majority had either low or moderate quality of life. Perceived adequacy of social support also took the same pattern contrary to the expectation that the elderly in “developing nations” are believed to enjoy extended social support. Attempts to explain this profile of the elderly yielded that perceived social support and income were indeed the strongest predictors generally explaining about fifty percent of the variance in self-ratings of subjective quality of life. Hence, it was suggested that there is a need to explore other potent factors that would do the remaining fifty percent of the explaining. Other recommendations were also suggested to better address the problem in the future