Federalism and Land Rights in the Context of Post-1991 Ethiopia

The land rights question has always been at the center of the political–economic history of Ethiopia as a modern state. It serves as a means of political control and/or a cause for/of political struggle. The adoption of “ethnic-based” federalism in post-1991 Ethiopia further introduces the federal state power competition over land matters and contributes a distinct and divergent way of perceiving the relationship between the state and people’s ownership of land as adopted in the 1995 federal Constitution. The Constitution establishes the Central government as a unifying force to create a single politico-economic community and federating states on an ethnic basis to ensure self-rule and accommodate diversities. Accordingly, the Constitution provides the Central government with the power to determine land utilization and protection while empowering the states to administer the same. However, the reality is that this constitutional foundation is ignored at every level of government. A general misunderstanding of the nature of land ownership and the division of power between the various levels of government contribute to bypassing the Constitution requirements. This has, in effect, contributed to the eviction of individuals and communities from another sister state by claiming that “land belongs to the state and people of the regional state,” thus resulting in the tension and conflict between federal and state governments.