CITIZENSHIP GRADE 10 UNIT 5 SHORT NOTE

UNIT 5: FEDERALISM IN ETHIOPIA

LESSON 1: The meaning of federalism
 Federalism is a system of government where power is divided between federal and regional governments.
 Devolution, the principle of federalism means to transfer power of the region that constitutes the federation.
 The devolution of power makes neither the federal nor the regional governments supreme. Instead, power is
coordinated between the center and the region to help to avoid a monopoly of power.
 Different scholars define the term federalism in different way some of them are:
1. Federalism is a political organization in which the activities of government are divided between regional
governments and a central government

2. Federalism refers to the advocacy of multi-tiered government combining elements of shared-rule and regional
self-rule Within the genus of federal political systems.

 federations represent a particular species in which neither the federal nor the constituent unit of government
are constitutionally subordinate to the other, i.e. each has sovereign powers derived from the constitution
3. Federalism is an institutional arrangement in which
 public authority is divided between state governments and a central government,
 each level of government has some issues on which it makes final decisions,
 a high federal court adjudicates disputes concerning federalism
Federalism Vs Federation
 Federalism: is a principle or system of government where power is divided between a central authority and
regional or local governments.

 Federation: is a specific form of government that is based on the principle of federalism, with a central
government and a number of regional governments or states.

LESSON 2: Types of federalism

 In federalism laws that are made by the states (regions) usually apply to the respective regions where as
laws by federal legislatures apply to all states.
 In con-federal arrangements, the central government has no direct authority over citizens’ life.
 In federations the federal government has direct authority over citizens by legislating rules and laws.
 Based on how federal governments execute their laws across their whole territory (states) federations can be
classified as Dual federalism and Cooperative federalism
A) Dual federalism
 Its definition primarily concerns the balance of power between the two governing
 clearly divides government authority between state and national governments
 May refers it as Layer Cake Federalism
 State (regional) governments will have their own powers where the central government could not intervene
 State (regional) governments controlled almost all aspects of individual citizens
 The national (central/federal) government had authority over internal improvements, international relations
and regulations of those relations, determining commercial aspects between the states, etc.
Advantages of dual federalism
 It allows protection of local jurisdictions from federal Government overreach.
 It prevents the federal government from having too much power in its hands
 It also allows local laws to develop & imply reflecting on the requirements & wants of the local constituents
Disadvantages of dual federalism
 It ensures that tension between state and federal government always stays at the brim
 It may leads to decreasing levels of cooperation between the federal and state governments
 It reduced efficiency of programs that require full cooperation from both governing bodies
 As the power at the hands of states increases, the unity between the different states tends to decrease
B) Cooperative federalism
 It requires state and national governments to share power and collaborate on overlapping functions
 The federal government giving tax revenue to the states in order to fund interstate highways
 States are allowed to govern the construction and maintenance process in accordance with goals set by the
national government.
 It known as marble-cake federalism
 Federal, state, and local governments interact cooperatively and collectively to solve common problems
Advantages of cooperative federalism
 National and state governments work together to provide services in an efficient manner.
 It provided a more practical approach to intergovernmental relations, as more complex problems arose that
could not be addressed at only one level of government.
 Both the state and federal governments held their own set of powers and responsibilities.
 It gives a sense of participation for peoples in their government
 It prevented either the state or the government from gaining an excessive amount of power.
 States have an incentive to cooperate with the federal government.
 States can influence how programs are implemented.
Disadvantages of cooperative federalism
 It decrease in the state’s powers
 It create a condition of states (regions) to not being on their own, the federal government may intervene in
policies once reserved to the states.
LESSON 3: Key features of federalism
1. Division of power
 Federations are distinguished from other polities primarily by the fact that political power (commonly related
to legislative, executive, judicial and financial functions) is constitutionally divided between the federal
government and the states.
 A common feature among federations has been the existence of powerful motives
 to be united for certain purposes
 deep-rooted motives for autonomous states for other purposes
 There is the famous expression that defines federations as
 Shared rule through common institutions. In this cardinal values, unity is promoted.
 Self- rule for constituent units. In this cardinal value, diversity is equally promoted.
2. Decentralized system of government
 As opposed to confederations, in decentralized governments the units, often called local governments, are
subordinate to the center.
3. Written and Supreme federal constitution
 Another shared feature in federations is the division of power between the federal government and the states
is based on a written and supreme federal constitution to which both orders of government must submit.
 Federations originate from particular bargains struck at a particular time designed to serve for generations.
 Written constitutions are, therefore, necessary records of the terms of the bargain.
 To write and adopt a constitution is to agree to the bargain itself.
 The terms of the agreement, which establish the federal government and the states and which distribute
powers between them, must been shined in a supreme federal constitution, which is binding.
4. Rigid constitution
 There are two types of federations
1. A federations that require the consent of every state for any amendment
2. A federations where the ordinary vote of the federal parliament may sometimes suffice for amending
the constitution.
 Ethiopian Constitution is more rigid compared to the constitutions of other federations.
 In principle, a constitution does not incorporate an amendable provision.
 It requires the participation of both the federal and state governments in all amendment cases.
 There is two procedures of amending Ethiopian constitution
1. The prescribing the procedure for amendment and governing fundamental rights and freedoms
provisions of the constitution can only be amended if approved by the majority vote in all the states and
by a two-thirds majority vote in each of the federal houses.

2. Majority of the provisions, including the governing the relationship between the federal and state
 governments, can be amended only if approved by a two-thirds majority vote in a joint session of both
federal houses and a two-thirds majority vote of states.
LESSON 4: Advantage and disadvantage of federalism
A. Advantages of federalism
1. Division of powers
 In a federal government the powers of administration are divided between the center and the units.
 The powers may be distributed in two different ways.
1. The constitution states what powers the federal authority shall have, and leaves the remainder to the
federating units. Eg. America
 In this condition the federal government is weak
2. The constitution states what powers the federating units shall possess and leave the remainder to the
federal authority. Eg. Canada
 In this condition the federal government is more powerful
 The remainder is generally known as residuary powers.
 In a federation both the federal and state governments are independent and autonomous in the spheres of
their powers. ‘One is not subordinate to the other.

 Both derive their powers from the constitution which is the supreme law of the land, it is original and not
delegated by the center.
2. Separate government
 In a federal form of gov't, both the center & the units have their separate set of governmental apparatus.
3. Written constitution
 A federal government must have a written constitution. As a federation is a political partnership of various
states and consequently there must be a written agreement in the form of a written constitution.
4. Rigid constitution
 The constitution of a federation should be more or less rigid. It is regarded as a sacred agreement, the spirit
of which should not be easily violated.
 A flexible constitution allows a scope to the central gov't to curtail the autonomy of the federating states.
5. Special judiciary
 In a federation, the constitutional disputes that arise tween the federal /center and the units or between one
unit and another are to be adjudicated in the light of the constitution.
 For this purpose a special judiciary with wide powers must be established.
 This special judiciary
 act as the custodian and guardian of the constitution
 has the powers of declaring any law, national or local.
6. Better understanding of local issues and demands
 The central government has no true way to understand what issues, demands and changes need to be made
in every area of the country.

 The smaller branches of the local governments are right in the middle of the local society. They are better
suited to deal with the problems that may arise in grass root levels.
7. Increasing citizen participation
 Due to the existence of dual level of governments federalism increases citizens level of participation in the
government decision making at the grass root level.
8. protection against tyranny
 One of the most important points of federalism in dividing the power between the national government and
state governments and spreading the national government power among three branches that serve as a
check and balance on each other is that it serves as a deterrent to tyranny and runaway power.
9. More efficiency
 When some of the powers of the government are dispersed among the states, giving states the right to solve
some of their own problems; it allows more efficiency within the system.
 Trying to have a national solution to all problems, which could be referred to as a ‘cookie-cutter method’ of
law & policy making, ends up with solutions that are more effective in some states, & less effective in others.

 To allow states to create solutions to their own problems using policies and laws that work best in their
states means that each state can come up with its own solution, making gov't / governance more efficient.
B. Disadvantages of federalism
1. Conflict of authority
 Both central and state governments intend to assert their power over the other which at times causes
conflict between them.

 Along term conflict between the central and state governments can even create hurdles in the national
development and prosperity.
2. Regionalism over patriotism
 The mark of a great country is just how patriotic and prideful the citizens is to be part of it.
 Federalism, since it promotes smaller levels of government, promotes smaller levels of pride.
 It can put one region against another and take away from the feeling of patriotism that should be present all
over the entire country.
3. Lack of accountability
 The responsibility of the government being shared, it becomes very easy for one sector to release
responsibility for the other, and vice versa.

 This can become a very large problem because if something goes wrong, both sides of the government can
relinquish control for the responsibility.
4. Inequalities between states
 The federal form of government allows for regional inequalities between different states.
 For example, instead of education funding throughout the country being the same, since it is a state issue,
some states will spend more per caption education than other states, causing what could be considered a
disparity.

 The same goes for other things as well such as taxes, health care programs, and welfare programs which
increases regional inequality amongst the different states.
5. Blockage of nationalist policies by states
 States can fight against the existence of certain national laws by challenging them in court, or going out of
their way to not enforce those national laws, or even deliberately obstructing enforcement of national laws.
LESSON 5: The roles of federalism in accommodating diversity in Ethiopia
 Ethiopia for almost a century, experienced a highly centralized unitary state structure, irrespective of the
diverse multiethnic groups that exist within the state.
 But the idea of creating a centralized and unified Ethiopian state is proved to be ineffective.
 The introduction of federal system was denied the attention and recognition during the past centuries as
most governments used to propagate the idea,” one nation- one government, one nation one-country, one
country –one nation, one language and one religion”. This has completely side lined the virtues of diversity.

 In many ways the present federal system is the culmination of a long period of searching for a constitutional
formula which can unite and contain the Ethiopian peoples.

 The reason Ethiopia has recognized federalism as one essential mechanism the current constitution is to
accommodate its multi-faceted diversity with political unity.

 The most significant and unique features of the FDRE constitution is its recognition and accommodation of
the ethnic groups of the Ethiopian society through empowering all ethnic groups are the right to self-
determination in its Article 39.
 Self determination includes
 the right to autonomy (self-government),
  the right to speak their own language,
 preserve their own culture, history, identity and to separate institutions
The features of Ethiopian federalism
1. Power division between states and the federal government.
 The constitution explicitly lists down the federal powers, the state powers, and concurrent powers and leaves
residual power to the state.

 Respecting and mutual non-intervention in to the powers of each other is also the case in point under the
constitution. Article 50(8)

 Both have a constitutionally limited jurisdiction of power, with the restriction of crossing over in each other’s
affairs.
 The jurisdiction of the federal gov't are very long and determinant as compared to the power left to states.
 The powers and functions of the federal government are listed under article 51 of the constitution.
 The power and authority of states in the federation listed under article 52 of the constitution.
2. Constitutional interpretation
 The Ethiopian constitution empowers the House of the Federation to interpret the constitution.
 In most of federal countries interpretations of constitution is given for courts or judicial organ in general and
of the supreme courts in particular.
 Example In Germany constitutional interpretation is the task assigned to a special constitutional court
 In Switzerland constitutional interpretation is divided between the federal tribunal and the people.
3. Bi-cameral legislature
 In the case of Ethiopia, the constitution provides two federal houses
A) The house of people’s representatives (HPR)
 It is the supreme political organ in the country and the lower house
 It is a law making body whose members are elected by universal suffrage (directly by people) every five years.
 One member of HPR represents 100,000 people. The maximum number of 550 and minimum number of
minority group is 20.
 Functions of HPR
 Utilization of land and other natural resources, of rivers and lakes crossing the boundaries of the
national territorial jurisdiction or linking two or more States;
 Inter-State commerce and foreign trade;
 Air, rail, water and sea transport, major roads linking two or more States, postal and
telecommunication services;
 Enforcement of the political rights established by the Constitution and electoral laws and procedures;
 Nationality, immigration, passport, exit from& entry into the country, the rights of refugees & of asylum
 Uniform standards of measurement and calendar;
 Patents and copyrights;
 The possession and bearing of arms.
 Enact commercial , penal , labor laws
B. The house of the federation
 It is the upper house
 It is a representative organ whose members are representative of each nation, nationalities and peoples.
 Each Nationality represented by at least one member. In addition a representative is allowed for each one
million of its population.
 It members shall be elected:-
 By the state council (state councils elect representatives of HF ) or
 Directly by people
 Functions of HF
 Interpreting the federal constitution
 Promoting the equality of the peoples of Ethiopia.
 Resolving dispute among states
 N.B. Art 68 no one may be member of HPR and HF simultaneously
Commission for constitutional inquiry (CCI)
 It established by HF
 It is composed of three members of the house, six legal experts and the president and the vice president
of the Supreme Court

 It examines any case of constitutional interpretation, and if there is a need, it will submit the case to the
house, which passes final decision on the issue.
Challenges to Ethiopian federalism
 Ethiopia has been implementing federalism since 1995with a great deal of both success and challenges.
 The major challenges to Ethiopian federalism include:
1. Ethnic tensions and conflicts.
2. Demand for greater autonomy and secession.
3. Resource allocation and inequality.
4. Political fragmentation.
5. Interethnic conflicts.
6. Governance and administrative challenges.
7. Balancing regional autonomy and national unity.