Ethiopia: An Alternative Approach to National Development

The existing Ethiopian constitution that is based on ethnicity should be discarded and replaced by another constitution that recognizes territorial nationalism, which manifested itself in historic Ethiopia as regionalism or provincialism. The historically established status of the provinces of Arussie, Bale, Gondar, Harar, Shoa, Sidamo, Tigrai, Wollo, Wollega, and so on, would have to be restored. A federal constitution which corresponds to Ethiopia’s historical experiences, but modified to suit its present conditions, and based on such principles as the rule of law, state secularism, a bill of rights, a system of checks an balances, political and economic pluralism, including the legalization of political parties that are organized on the basis not of ethnicity, but on political philosophies and ideologies, should be presented to the Ethiopian people. An Ethiopian state organized in such a manner would be stable. It would also be in a much better position to conquer poverty, to solve its problems with Eritrea, its former province, and to intensify development cooperation with all of its neighbours in order to help speed up sub- regional economic integration