Freedom of Expression in the Context of Developmental State: The Case of Ethiopia

Shiferaw, Solomon Goshu (2015) Freedom of Expression in the Context of Developmental State: The Case of Ethiopia. Masters thesis, Addis Ababa University.

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Abstract

Both policy-makers and scholars have turned their attention to the Developmental State model as a means for alleviating poverty in developing countries. Both theoretical analysis and the empirical track record of the East Asian Development States point to the model‟s ability to achieve growth and development in a very short period of time. However, these Developmental States were not “right-friendly”. Particularly, their treatment of civil and political rights including freedom of expression has been criticized for not being in conformity with international standards they subscribed to. The constitutional democracy that Ethiopia has introduced through the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Constitution has provided the ideals of democracy. Thus, democratic process is a precondition to every activity of the government. Consequently, Ethiopia has pledged to adopt Democratic Developmental State rather than the mainstream Developmental State. The paper attempts to explore the status of freedom of expression in line with the recent political and legal history after the Developmental State model is introduced in Ethiopia. Given the history of gross and systematic human rights violation in Ethiopia, the adoption of the Developmental State model is feared for having a negative effect on the status of freedom of expression in the country. The paper argues that most of the signs are indicative of the materialization of this fear. And, given its diversity and plurality, Ethiopia cannot afford to delay the full application of freedom of expression indefinitely. The adoption of the Developmental State model was necessitated by the urgency and intensity of the need to address the country‟s chronic poverty. However, without building democracy and its necessary components, including the freedom of expression, the development cannot be sustainable

Item Type: Thesis (Masters)
Uncontrolled Keywords: Developmental state, freedom of expression, revolutionary democracy, civil and political rights, socio-economic rights, instrument to development, Ethiopia
Subjects: K Law > K Law (General)
Divisions: Africana
Depositing User: Emmanuel Ndorimana
Date Deposited: 22 Jun 2018 07:49
Last Modified: 22 Jun 2018 07:49
URI: http://thesisbank.jhia.ac.ke/id/eprint/4510

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