Contested power in Ethiopia : traditional authorities and multi-party elections / / edited by Kjetil Tronvoll, Tobias Hagmann.

• Superior document: African social studies series, v. 27
• TeilnehmendeR: Tronvoll, Kjetil.; Hagmann, Tobias.
• Year of Publication: 2012
• Language: English
• Series: African social studies series ; v. 27.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (313 p.)
• Notes: Description based upon print version of record.
• Bibliography: Includes bibliographical references and index.
• ISBN: 1283366061; 9786613366061; 9004218491
• ISSN: 1568-1203
• Hierarchical level: Monograph
• Statement of Responsibility: edited by Kjetil Tronvoll, Tobias Hagmann.

This book offers a comparative ethnography of the contested powers that shape democratization in Ethiopia. Although multi-party elections have become the norm in Africa, relatively little is known about the significance of non-state actors such as traditional authorities in electioneering. Focusing on Ethiopia’s competitive 2005 elections, this book analyzes how customary leaders, political parties and state officials confronted and complemented each other during election time. Case studies reveal the contemporaneousness of traditional authorities in modern politics, but also how multi-party competition reproduces traditional relations of domination among ethnic groups. The book documents the importance of customary authority in selecting party candidates and providing legitimacy to political parties, but also their limitations in a country dominated by a semi-authoritarian party-state.