Citizens, civil society, and activism under the EPRDF regime in Ethiopia : an analysis from below / edited by Camille Louise Pellerin and Logan Cochrane.

Other author Pellerin, Camille Louise editor.
Other author Cochrane, Logan, editor.
Format Book
PublicationMontreal ; Kingston ; London ; Chicago : McGill-Queen’s University Press, [2023]
Copyright Date©2023
Descriptionx, 309 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.
Subjects

SeriesMcGill-Queen’s studies in protest, power, and resistance
McGill-Queen's studies in protest, power, and resistance ; 6. ^A1446711
Contents Introduction: Civil Society Activism under Authoritarian Rule--From Co-optation to Contestation / Camille Louise Pellerin -- Contesting the EPRDF Government: Mass Resistance, Political Mobilisation, and Legal Activism in the 1990s / Semeredin Yimer and Logan Cochrane -- Achievements and Resilience: Unspoken Stories of Civil Society Organisations in Ethiopia / Yntiso Gebre -- Eliminating Violence against Women in Ethiopia: Social Media Campaigns / Betel B. Birhanu, Hanna Lemma, and Kiya Gezahegne -- Ethiopia’s Women’s Development Army: A Moral and Political-Economic Perspective on Unpaid, State-Organised Rural Women’s Labour / Kenneth Maes, Svea Closser, Yihenew Tesfaye, Roza Abesha Feyisa, and Emily Baranski -- Zone 9 Bloggers and Activism Collective: Civil Society and Online Activism in Addis Ababa / Befeqadu Hailu -- A Non-violent Struggle against EPRDF’s Hegemony: The Case of the Muslim Protest (2011-15) / Faiz Mohammed Kassim and Dereje Feyissa Dori -- Speaking Power to ‘Truth’: An Outsider’s Look into the Oromo Youth Resistance against the EPRDF / Tegbaru Yared -- Civic Activism and Civil Society Reform in Ethiopia / Camille Louise Pellerin and Abduletif Kedir Idris -- Conclusion: Beyond the Public Silence--Civil Society Activism and Authoritarian Rule in Ethiopia / Camille Louise Pellerin and Logan Cochrane.
Abstract "In 2014-15, the Ethiopian government, together with many academics and observers, was surprised by the outbreak of anti-government protests, as large-scale public contestation of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) had been largely absent in the regime’s history. The dominant narrative about the EPRDF regime was that it was a top-down government, using authoritarian methods to ensure the population abided by its visions and directives, and describing its role in paternalistic ways, such as being the protector and guardian of the people. Changing this narrative, Citizens, Civil Society, and Activism under the EPRDF Regime in Ethiopia considers how citizens and civil society expressed their interests and exerted their agency in an authoritarian setting. Focusing on the EPRDF regime over a period of three decades up to 2019, the book explores civic activism in Ethiopia, presenting diverse examples of how citizens have (re)shaped the country. Challenging state-centric readings of state-society relations under EPRDF governance, this collection provides a counter-narrative that emphasizes the role and agency of citizens and civil society. The contributing authors draw on a heuristic analytical framework that examines different types of interactions between civil society and state actors (co-optation, cooperation, coexistence, and contestation) and captures the ways in which civil society actors make their voices heard. At a time when authoritarian forms of governance are increasingly prevalent across the world, this critically important collection offers insight into how citizens claim their agency and challenge state power in apparently top-down contexts."-- Provided by publisher.
Bibliography noteIncludes bibliographical references and index.
Other formsIssued also in electronic format.
Issued in other formOnline version: Citizens, civil society, and activism under the EPRDF regime in Ethiopia. Montreal ; Kingston ; London ; Chicago : McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2023 0228017866 9780228017868
Genre/formCase studies.
ISBN9780228017516
ISBN0228017513