The emerging democratic developmental state in post 1991 Ethiopia : A book Review 

This (book) review focuses on the justifications, successes, and challenges of Ethiopia’s adoption of democratic developmental state ideology. The book, largely employed secondary sources, adopted exploratory and clinical research designs to assess the achievements and challenges Ethiopia has faced in executing the adopted developmental state political economy in Ethiopia’s context. It begins by justifying the need for adopting a new political and economic ideology by showing the failure of neo-liberalism to help developing countries like Ethiopia reduce poverty, transform its at-large backward agrarian economy, and maintain peace sustainably. The author found out that the ideology as the best paradigm to realize ‘‘renaissance’’ of Africa in general and Ethiopia in particular. Besides, it addresses the major successes the country has achieved so far following the adoption of this ideology in reducing poverty; proving health care and education to citizens; creating employment opportunity for the youth; providing affordable housing supply to the poor urban dwellers, and sustainably maintain peace and security of the state etc. Despite the book being significant in showing how Ethiopia is practicing the ideology, it failed to show that adopting the ideology reduces the autonomy of regional states, and by structure, constitutionally speaking, in principle, a developmental state best suits unitary states, thus contradicting federalism.