Regional Autonomy of Policy Making and Implementations in Ethiopia

This book, comprising seven chapters, stems from a PhD thesis examining regional autonomy in policymaking and implementation within the Ethiopian federation. It focuses on urban policy in the Amhara and SNNPR states since 1991.The book concludes that, from a legal and constitutional perspective, regions in the Ethiopian federation are autonomous in both policy formulation and implementation. Both the Amhara and SNNPR states have adequate legal, political, administrative, and institutional structures for regional autonomy. However, factors still hinder both regions' ability to fully exercise their constitutional mandate for policymaking. Chapters 4 and 5 of this book emphasized that the EPRDF's centralized party structure significantly hindered regional autonomy in decision-making and policymaking. The single dominant party system (EPRDF), and the blurred lines between party and government decisions, were key challenges to the Ethiopian federation since 1991. Operating under "democratic centralism," the ruling EPRDF adopted a centrist decision-making approach. Consequently, regional states generally lacked an independent, active, and prominent role in creating their own policies.