Nominal Representative and Implementing Political Institutions in Ethiopia

The role of political institutions could be dichotomized into two. Some of them are on the representational side of the political system (parties and parliaments). Some of them are on the implementation side of the system (the government, the police, the courts, the government media, and the civil service). The expected role of political institutions to structure politics and policy-making. In response to this concern, this paper explored the status of existed political institutions in Ethiopia. In contrast to the main roles vested in political institutions, this paper argued that these governing institutions manifested inherent institutional weakness in Ethiopia. The paper contends that there has been institutional decline and the nominal nature of the country’s governing institutions. This could be demonstrated by the omnipotent executive, rubber-stamp legislature, subservient judiciary, repressive policy, and ineffective civil service of the country. Keywords: Ethiopia, political institutions, the executive, legislative, judiciary, civil service, political parties. DOI: 10.7176/IAGS/93-02 Publication date: January 31st 202