Thermidor in Ethiopia? Agrarian Transformations between Economic Liberalization and the Developmental State

The article contributes to the debate about the historical trajectory of state formation in Ethiopia and, by employing the notion of Thermidorian Situation as developed by Bayart, discusses some recent shifts in the land policy towards agricultural commercialization. The Ethiopian Thermidor sheds li...

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Main Authors: Davide Chinigò, Emanuele Fantini
Format: Article
Language:fra
Published: Pôle de Recherche pour l'Organisation et la diffusion de l'Information Géographique 2015-04-01
Series:EchoGéo
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/echogeo/14141
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author Davide Chinigò
Emanuele Fantini
author_facet Davide Chinigò
Emanuele Fantini
author_sort Davide Chinigò
collection DOAJ
description The article contributes to the debate about the historical trajectory of state formation in Ethiopia and, by employing the notion of Thermidorian Situation as developed by Bayart, discusses some recent shifts in the land policy towards agricultural commercialization. The Ethiopian Thermidor sheds light on the extent to which post-revolutionary elites since the 1990s have adopted selective and original strategies of political and economic liberalization to consolidate their power in the context of neoliberal globalization. The article’s main argument—that contemporary agrarian policies in Ethiopia are inherently contradictory—is elucidated through empirical details on recent reforms of agricultural extensions, cooperatives, micro-finance institutions (MFIs), and agricultural micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in the case study of West Arsi Zone (Oromia Region). The article concludes that the current agrarian transformation in Ethiopia, characterized by selective and incomplete dynamics of liberalization under the developmental state, remains by far central to the overall process of state formation and can be best described through unfolding patterns of (re)configuration and (re)negotiation of spaces and power.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1963-1197
language fra
publishDate 2015-04-01
publisher Pôle de Recherche pour l'Organisation et la diffusion de l'Information Géographique
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spelling doaj-art-9dad5612b8d4407b921b148f87f257812025-01-30T12:44:19ZfraPôle de Recherche pour l'Organisation et la diffusion de l'Information GéographiqueEchoGéo1963-11972015-04-013110.4000/echogeo.14141Thermidor in Ethiopia? Agrarian Transformations between Economic Liberalization and the Developmental StateDavide ChinigòEmanuele FantiniThe article contributes to the debate about the historical trajectory of state formation in Ethiopia and, by employing the notion of Thermidorian Situation as developed by Bayart, discusses some recent shifts in the land policy towards agricultural commercialization. The Ethiopian Thermidor sheds light on the extent to which post-revolutionary elites since the 1990s have adopted selective and original strategies of political and economic liberalization to consolidate their power in the context of neoliberal globalization. The article’s main argument—that contemporary agrarian policies in Ethiopia are inherently contradictory—is elucidated through empirical details on recent reforms of agricultural extensions, cooperatives, micro-finance institutions (MFIs), and agricultural micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in the case study of West Arsi Zone (Oromia Region). The article concludes that the current agrarian transformation in Ethiopia, characterized by selective and incomplete dynamics of liberalization under the developmental state, remains by far central to the overall process of state formation and can be best described through unfolding patterns of (re)configuration and (re)negotiation of spaces and power.https://journals.openedition.org/echogeo/14141landagricultureEthiopiastate formationpost-revolutionary elites
spellingShingle Davide Chinigò
Emanuele Fantini
Thermidor in Ethiopia? Agrarian Transformations between Economic Liberalization and the Developmental State
EchoGéo
land
agriculture
Ethiopia
state formation
post-revolutionary elites
title Thermidor in Ethiopia? Agrarian Transformations between Economic Liberalization and the Developmental State
title_full Thermidor in Ethiopia? Agrarian Transformations between Economic Liberalization and the Developmental State
title_fullStr Thermidor in Ethiopia? Agrarian Transformations between Economic Liberalization and the Developmental State
title_full_unstemmed Thermidor in Ethiopia? Agrarian Transformations between Economic Liberalization and the Developmental State
title_short Thermidor in Ethiopia? Agrarian Transformations between Economic Liberalization and the Developmental State
title_sort thermidor in ethiopia agrarian transformations between economic liberalization and the developmental state
topic land
agriculture
Ethiopia
state formation
post-revolutionary elites
url https://journals.openedition.org/echogeo/14141
work_keys_str_mv AT davidechinigo thermidorinethiopiaagrariantransformationsbetweeneconomicliberalizationandthedevelopmentalstate
AT emanuelefantini thermidorinethiopiaagrariantransformationsbetweeneconomicliberalizationandthedevelopmentalstate