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TPLF: reform or decline?

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  • Medhane Tadesse
  • John Young

Abstract

Founded and led by the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) came to power in 1991, after a sixteen-year armed struggle against the military regime that had ruled Ethiopia since 1974. While not formally a marxist-leninist party, the TPLF nonetheless was devoted to these ideals and they figured prominently in the structure and functioning of the organisation. While the TPLF's base represented the peasantry of Tigray, its leadership was dominated by young, radical intellectuals. Itself representing an ethnic group of relatively modest size, the TPLF formed a coalition of ethnically based organisations, the EPRDF, in 1989, to give itself Ethiopia-wide political scope and legitimacy. Once it came to power, the Front faced serious problems of adjustment, but managed to overcome them thanks to the coherence of its programme, the commitment of its cadres, and the cohesiveness of its leadership. In the face of dramatically changed international circumstances, the EPRDF moderated its policies, abandoning marxism and embracing the free market. It weathered an insurrection by the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) in 1992-93, contained Islamist incursions from Sudan and Somalia, won the war against Eritrea (1998-2000), achieved a measure of economic progress, and took large steps towards state decentralisation and smaller ones towards democratisation.

Suggested Citation

  • Medhane Tadesse & John Young, 2003. "TPLF: reform or decline?," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(97), pages 389-403, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:revape:v:30:y:2003:i:97:p:389-403
    DOI: 10.1080/03056244.2003.9659773
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    1. repec:idq:ictduk:12777 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Addis, Amsalu & Asongu, Simplice & Zuping, Zhu & Addis, Hailu Kendie & Shifaw, Eshetu, 2020. "The Recent Political Situation in Ethiopia and Rapprochement with Eritrea," MPRA Paper 107090, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    3. Tom Lavers, 2016. "Social protection in an aspiring ‘developmental state’: The political drivers of community-based health insurance in Ethiopia," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-071-16, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    4. Hackenesch, Christine, 2015. "It’s Domestic Politics, Stupid! EU Democracy Promotion Strategies Meet African Dominant Party Regimes," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 85-96.
    5. Tom Lavers, 2016. "Social protection in an aspiring 'developmental state': The political drivers of Ethiopia's PSNP," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2016-130, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    6. Lavers, Tom, 2019. "Towards Universal Health Coverage in Ethiopia's ‘developmental state’? The political drivers of health insurance," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 228(C), pages 60-67.
    7. Tom Lavers, 2016. "Social protection in an aspiring 'developmental state': The political drivers of Ethiopia's PSNP," WIDER Working Paper Series 130, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    8. repec:idq:ictduk:13751 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Tom Lavers, 2016. "Social protection in an aspiring ‘developmental state’: The political drivers of Ethiopia’s PSNP," Global Development Institute Working Paper Series esid-073-16, GDI, The University of Manchester.
    10. Yeshtila Wondemeneh Bekele & Darley Jose Kjosavik & Nadarajah Shanmugaratnam, 2016. "State-Society Relations in Ethiopia: A Political-Economy Perspective of the Post-1991 Order," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 5(3), pages 1-19, September.

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