Ethiopia is in a comprehensive crisis and we all should think of how to come out of this quack mire. This entails that all of us should come up with some idea how to do so, and this must be welcomed by all of us. The old student notion of my way or the highway should be put to rest. I believe that people who jump to attack the character of persons rather than evaluate their ideas are short of ideas themselves. People use curses because they do not want to think and because they do not have ideas to advance. Our student days saw this approach and we all know what the result has been.
Professor Messay’s Article deals with a number of important points regarding the current political situation in Ethiopia, but the main focus is about the developmental state and what it needs as a prerequisites. He enumerates the lacking requirements in Ethiopia by referring to other developmental states in the world. Some of the requirements mentioned include a comprehensive economic betterment to all, the independence of the bureaucrats, and the judiciary, and the vision by the ruling party to move towards an inclusive political system.
The party in power in Ethiopia has a very narrow social base and stays in power because it controls the means of coercion. It is scarred of any coalition because it fears that its power will be eroded and loses power. Meles is talking about development and economic growth because he sees in it a way to avoid revolt by the masses of Ethiopia. Messay suggests that Meles can be encouraged to move to compromise if the opposition can show him the way to do so and thus free him from his base is, to say the least, a very optimistic view of Meles. I do not think Meles is capable of thinking such long-term strategies. Meles has shown some ability, like most Ethiopians, in dealing with imminent and immediate problems, not envisaging grand political strategies. Perhaps Messay’s article may give him some idea of what he should do in the long run. Given the political culture we have had, it is hard to believe that Meles and his followers will give much thought to what should be done in the long run, and more importantly, they may feel that compromise is defeat and surrender.
What is said about Meles and his followers apply to the opposition groups too, in that they too will see compromise as surrender and defeat. I think the great challenge to Messay’s idea is the ingrained political culture in Ethiopia. Some how, we Ethiopians, think in terms of either winning all or losing it all. In conclusion we should welcome Messay’s idea and we should discuss it. If Messay’s idea has place in the political culture of Ethiopia, then we can build on what is positive and move on to a higher plane; we do not have to start from zero and build every thing up from nothing.
