• Revolutionary Democracy: This phrase has been adopted to describe the system devised by the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), the ruling party long led by the late Ethiopian prime minister, Meles Zenawi. The EPRDF was launched in the 1980s as a Marxist-Leninist resistance group during the civil uprising against the military government of Mengistu Haile Mariam. A coalition of various ethnic-based liberation parties, the EPRDF jettisoned Marxism after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, the party retains considerable Leninist baggage in its outlook and especially its internal organization. It regards itself as a vanguard party that enjoys superior knowledge of the nature of social development. It stresses class divisions and treats neoliberalism as the principle adversary of Ethiopian development. Under revolutionary democracy, an individual’s contribution to political or cultural life is judged by his or her contribution to development, as defined by the EPRDF. Thus, the party refers to “developmental investors,” “developmental journalists,” and even “developmental artists.” The party is organized along Leninist lines of “democratic centralism,” sponsors active youth and women’s divisions, has co-opted institutions like trade unions and religious denominations, maintains an ambitious indoctrination campaign in universities, and functions as the gatekeeper for positions of responsibility in both the public and private sectors. Not surprisingly, Ethiopia falls short on practically every indicator of political rights and civil liberties.
Posted on: Sat, 06 Dec 2014 11:10:59 +0000
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