The Effect of Tigray People’s Liberation Front Ethnic Federalism on Ethiopian Democratic Uncertainty and Political Violence

This article analyzes the effect of Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) ethnic federalism on Ethiopian democratic uncertainty and political violence. Democracy is more than just a set of specific government institutions which rests upon a well - understood group of values, attitudes, and practices - all of which may take different forms and expressions among cultures and societies around the world. Federalism (dispersal of power) suggests that if it is to work best needs to be complemented by the rule of law, democracy and the culture of human rights in particular which focus on the institutional principles accommodating ethnic diversity. It includes the constitution, legislation and other established practices that regulate the management of ethnic diversity. Federalism is not a panacea for all challenges of ethnic diversity. The instigated Ethnic federalism in Ethiopia is the “divide and rule strategy” of the TPLF system, which weaken interregional and interethnic cooperation and aggravated conflict that led to crack-down unity over crosscutting issues such as religion, common historical experiences and national feelings to increase the vulnerability and risk of interethnic conflict and national disintegration. Thus, it is only federalism in a structural sense; top-down policy directions control lower level activities and challenge regional autonomy which minimized the power of regional states to provide contextual local decisions. Therefore, Ethiopian should contest to evade the colonial trick ethnic federalism system which was implemented to plant division among ethnic groups so as to institutionalize and facilitate rule by the TPLF and its politically affiliated groups.

 Keywords: Democracy, Ethnic federalism, Ethiopia, political violent, state formation.