Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract
A new book addressing the social and political challenges facing Ethiopia.
Ethiopia was still at war when a group of Ethiopian scholars met in Addis Ababa in May 2022. The conference was held during a lull in fighting that resulted from a ceasefire. However, it was not lost on the group that Ethiopia was facing enormous challenges. To borrow a collage of descriptions from conference participants, the country was in “a state of war”, “a political unsettlement”, “a revolutionary situation”, “an inflection point”, “a transitional moment”, and “a state nearing failure”. The ceasefire would collapse in August and fighting would resume until another ceasefire in November 2022.
But why was Ethiopia at war in the first place? What can it do to transform the current truce into a stable and just future?
This book, “Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract,” captures an attempt of conference attendees to grapple with these questions. The book contains papers, essays, transcribed speeches, and proceedings of the conference, capturing the perspectives of Ethiopian scholars from a wide variety of fields including constitutional law, federalism, history and political science. It addresses the social and political challenges that ought to be addressed in Ethiopia, the strengths and weaknesses of its constitutional structures as pertinent to these challenges, and ways of building a resilient polity. The book came about through a collaboration between Addis Ababa University’s College of Law and Governance Studies, Harvard Law School’s Human Rights Program (HRP), Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law, and the Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs.
“In this time of upheaval and polarization, a modest but by no means uncomplicated hope of the conference was to create a safe space for academic dialogue,” said Abadir Ibrahim, Associate Director of HRP. “Once we were able to achieve that, the substantive insights of the conference recorded in this book proved to be more than just informative — they were truly heartening.”
Getachew Assefa, associate professor and dean of the Addis Ababa University College of Law and Governance Studies, said in his opening remarks at the conference, “I hope the discussions in this conference and the papers that will be made public from it will contribute to informing policy makers and anyone who wants to benefit from the discussions.”
In the preface to the publication, Thomas F. Geraghty, Class of 1967 James B. Haddad Professor of Law Emeritus at Northwestern Law and director emeritus of the Law School’s Bluhm Legal Clinic, writes:
“Ethiopia is not alone in falling short of creating the conditions that support peaceful coexistence in its many diverse communities, this despite the fact that government officials, opposition leaders, concerned citizens, organizations and scholars strive to create an environment conducive to constructive dialogue.”
Published by Northwestern Libraries in cooperation with Northwestern’s Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs, the publication, noted Ibrahim, is “meant to bring this dialogue, including the specific insights, conclusions and disagreements within it, into the public sphere hoping that it will infuse nuance into the broader political discourse.”
“As an academic community we want to contribute to the betterment of the life of Ethiopians and the well-being of the Ethiopian society and promote the civilized undertaking of political discourse in the pursuit of stability and peace,” Assefa said.
The Book
Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract is available in the following formats:
Inside the Book
Front Cover
Front Matter
Preface
Professor Thomas Geraghty
Download pp. xvii – xviii (preface).
View citation
CHICAGO
Geraghty, Thomas. “Preface.” In Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, xvii-xviii. Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022.
MLA
Geraghty, Thomas. “Preface.” Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022, pp. xvii-xviii.
BLUEBOOK
Thomas Geraghty, “Preface,” in Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde (Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022), xvii-xviii.
Introduction
Dr. Abadir M. Ibrahim
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CHICAGO
Ibrahim, Abadir M. “Introduction.” In Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, 1-6. Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022.
MLA
Ibrahim, Abadir M. “Introduction.” Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022, pp. 1-6.
BLUEBOOK
Abadir M. Ibrahim, “Introduction,” in Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde (Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022), 1-6.
Opening Remarks
Dr. Sossina M. Haile, Dr. Getachew Assefa Woldemariam
Part I: Recentering the Social Field as a Site of Politics
The Politics of the Social: Imagining a New Political Order in Ethiopia
Dr. Semeneh Ayalew Asfaw
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CHICAGO
Asfaw, Semeneh Ayalew. “The Politics of the Social: Imagining a New Political Order in Ethiopia.” In Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, 11-54. Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022.
MLA
Asfaw, Semeneh Ayalew. “The Politics of the Social: Imagining a New Political Order in Ethiopia.” Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022, pp. 11-54.
BLUEBOOK
Semeneh Ayalew Asfaw, “The Politics of the Social: Imagining a New Political Order in Ethiopia,” in Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde (Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022), 11-54.
Intergroup Conflicts and the Role of Emotions: The Need for and Importance of Empathy in Filling the Trust Deficit and Resolving Ethiopia’s Chronic Political Problems
Dr. Zelalem Mogessie Teferra
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CHICAGO
Teferra, Zelalem Mogessie. “Intergroup Conflicts and the Role of Emotions: The Need for and Importance of Empathy in Filling the Trust Deficit and Resolving Ethiopia’s Chronic Political Problems.” In Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, 55-94. Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022.
MLA
Teferra, Zelalem Mogessie. “Intergroup Conflicts and the Role of Emotions: The Need for and Importance of Empathy in Filling the Trust Deficit and Resolving Ethiopia’s Chronic Political Problems.” Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022, pp. 55-94.
BLUEBOOK
Zelalem Mogessie Teferra, “Intergroup Conflicts and the Role of Emotions: The Need for and Importance of Empathy in Filling the Trust Deficit and Resolving Ethiopia’s Chronic Political Problems,” in Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde (Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022), 55-94.
Part II: Adopting Intersectionality in Constitutional Design
Women’s Rights and Ethiopia’s Future Social Contract: The Need to Adopt an Intersectional Approach
Dr. Tigist Shewarega Hussen and Teguadda Alebachew Sete
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CHICAGO
Hussen, Tigist Shewarega, and Sete, Teguadda Alebachew. “Women’s Rights and Ethiopia’s Future Social Contract: The Need to Adopt an Intersectional Approach.” In Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, 95-114. Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022.
MLA
Hussen, Tigist Shewarega, and Sete, Teguadda Alebachew. “Women’s Rights and Ethiopia’s Future Social Contract: The Need to Adopt an Intersectional Approach.” Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022, pp. 95-114.
BLUEBOOK
Tigist Shewarega Hussen and Sete, Teguadda Alebachew, “Women’s Rights and Ethiopia’s Future Social Contract: The Need to Adopt an Intersectional Approach,” in Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde (Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022), 95-114.
A Dream Within a Dream: Minorities and Indigenous Peoples and Ethiopia’s Constitutional Moments
Dr. Abadir M. Ibrahim and Dr. Juweria Ali
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CHICAGO
Ibrahim, Abadir M., and Juweria Ali. “A Dream Within a Dream: Minorities and Indigenous Peoples and Ethiopia’s Constitutional Moments.” In Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, 115-142. Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022.
MLA
Ibrahim, Abadir M., and Juweria Ali. “A Dream Within a Dream: Minorities and Indigenous Peoples and Ethiopia’s Constitutional Moments.” Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022, pp. 115-142.
BLUEBOOK
Abadir M. Ibrahim and Juweria Ali, “A Dream Within a Dream: Minorities and Indigenous Peoples and Ethiopia’s Constitutional Moments,” in Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde (Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022), 115-142.
Part III: Managing Diversity: Assessing the Present and Looking Ahead
A Federation Without Federal Credentials: When Politics Trumps Law
Dr. Yonatan Tesfaye Fessha
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CHICAGO
Fessha, Yonatan Tesfaye. “A Federation Without Federal Credentials: When Politics Trumps Law.” In Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, 143-156. Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022.
MLA
Fessha, Yonatan Tesfaye. “A Federation Without Federal Credentials: When Politics Trumps Law.” Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022, pp. 143-156.
BLUEBOOK
Yonatan Tesfaye Fessha, “A Federation Without Federal Credentials: When Politics Trumps Law,” in Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde (Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022), 143-156.
The Four Faces of Ethiopian Federalism
Dr. Berihun Adugna Gebeye
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CHICAGO
Gebeye, Berihun Adugna. “The Four Faces of Ethiopian Federalism.” In Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, 157-190. Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022.
MLA
Gebeye, Berihun Adugna. “The Four Faces of Ethiopian Federalism.” Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022, pp. 157-190.
BLUEBOOK
Berihun Adugna Gebeye, “The Four Faces of Ethiopian Federalism,” in Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde (Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022), 157-190.
The Unbearable Thinness of National Citizenship in a Country Organized as a “Nation of Nations”: The Case of Ethiopia
Prof. Dr. Adeno Addis
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CHICAGO
Addis, Adeno. “The Unbearable Thinness of National Citizenship in a Country Organized as a ‘Nation of Nations’: The Case of Ethiopia.” In Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, 191-232. Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022.
MLA
Addis, Adeno. “The Unbearable Thinness of National Citizenship in a Country Organized as a ‘Nation of Nations’: The Case of Ethiopia.” Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022, pp. 191-232.
BLUEBOOK
Adeno Addis, “The Unbearable Thinness of National Citizenship in a Country Organized as a ‘Nation of Nations’: The Case of Ethiopia,” in Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde (Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022), 191-232.
Ethnic Federalism as a New State-Building Approach in Post-1991 Ethiopia: Its Pitfalls and the Way Forward
Dr. Mohammed Dejen Assen
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CHICAGO
Assen, Mohammed Dejen. “Ethnic Federalism as a New State-Building Approach in Post-1991 Ethiopia: Its Pitfalls and the Way Forward.” In Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, 233-266. Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022.
MLA
Assen, Mohammed Dejen. “Ethnic Federalism as a New State-Building Approach in Post-1991 Ethiopia: Its Pitfalls and the Way Forward.” Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022, pp. 233-266.
BLUEBOOK
Mohammed Dejen Assen, “Ethnic Federalism as a New State-Building Approach in Post-1991 Ethiopia: Its Pitfalls and the Way Forward,” in Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde (Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022), 233-266.
Revising the Territorial Structure of the Ethiopian Federal System: A Good Idea?
Dr. Zemelak Ayitenew Ayele
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CHICAGO
Ayele, Zemelak Ayitenew. “Revising the Territorial Structure of the Ethiopian Federal System: A Good Idea?” In Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, 267-280. Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022.
MLA
Ayele, Zemelak Ayitenew. “Revising the Territorial Structure of the Ethiopian Federal System: A Good Idea?” Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022, pp. 267-280.
BLUEBOOK
Zemelak Ayitenew Ayele, “Revising the Territorial Structure of the Ethiopian Federal System: A Good Idea?” in Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde (Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022), 267-280.
Part IV: Considering Consociational Arrangements for Shared Rule
Ethiopia’s Contested Federalism: How to Deal with Cleavages?
Prof. Dr. Assefa Fiseha
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CHICAGO
Fiseha, Assefa. “Ethiopia’s Contested Federalism: How to Deal with Cleavages?” In Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, 281-332. Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022.
MLA
Fiseha, Assefa. “Ethiopia’s Contested Federalism: How to Deal with Cleavages?” Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022, pp. 281-332.
BLUEBOOK
Assefa Fiseha, “Ethiopia’s Contested Federalism: How to Deal with Cleavages?” in Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde (Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022), 281-332.
Addressing Winner-Takes-All Politics in Ethiopia: Inclusive Majoritarianism through Liberal Consociationalism
Dr. Adem K. Abebe
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CHICAGO
Abebe, Adem K. “Addressing Winner-Takes-All Politics in Ethiopia: Inclusive Majoritarianism through Liberal Consociationalism.” In Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, 333-354. Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022.
MLA
Abebe, Adem K. “Addressing Winner-Takes-All Politics in Ethiopia: Inclusive Majoritarianism through Liberal Consociationalism.” Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022, pp. 333-354.
BLUEBOOK
Adem K. Abebe, “Addressing Winner-Takes-All Politics in Ethiopia: Inclusive Majoritarianism through Liberal Consociationalism,” in Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde (Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022), 333-354.
Part V: Looking Back-and-to-the-Future to Break the Cycle of Political Unsettlement
The Continuing Quest for Inclusive Democratic Governance in Ethiopia
Dr. Getachew Assefa Woldemariam
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CHICAGO
Woldemariam, Getachew Assefa. “The Continuing Quest for Inclusive Democratic Governance in Ethiopia.” In Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, 355-384. Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022.
MLA
Woldemariam, Getachew Assefa. “The Continuing Quest for Inclusive Democratic Governance in Ethiopia.” Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022, pp. 355-384.
BLUEBOOK
Getachew Assefa Woldemariam, “The Continuing Quest for Inclusive Democratic Governance in Ethiopia,” in Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde (Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022), 355-384.
Self-Alienation: Ethiopia’s Identity in Postcoloniality and its Implications for a Future Ethiopian Social Contract
Dr. Shimelis Mulugeta Kene
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CHICAGO
Kene, Shimelis Mulugeta. “Self-Alienation: Ethiopia’s Identity in Postcoloniality and its Implications for a Future Ethiopian Social Contract.” In Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, 385-402. Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022.
MLA
Kene, Shimelis Mulugeta. “Self-Alienation: Ethiopia’s Identity in Postcoloniality and its Implications for a Future Ethiopian Social Contract.” Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022, pp. 385-402.
BLUEBOOK
Shimelis Mulugeta Kene, “Self-Alienation: Ethiopia’s Identity in Postcoloniality and its Implications for a Future Ethiopian Social Contract,” in Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde (Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022), 385-402.
Breaking the Dialectics of Political Unsettlement in Ethiopia
Dr. Semir Yusuf
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CHICAGO
Yusuf, Semir. “Breaking the Dialectics of Political Unsettlement in Ethiopia.” In Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, 403-414. Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022.
MLA
Yusuf, Semir. “Breaking the Dialectics of Political Unsettlement in Ethiopia.” Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde, Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022, pp. 403-414.
BLUEBOOK
Semir Yusuf, “Breaking the Dialectics of Political Unsettlement in Ethiopia,” in Between Failure and Redemption: The Future of the Ethiopian Social Contract, edited by Abadir M. Ibrahim and Kokebe Wolde (Evanston: Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs and Northwestern University Libraries, 2022), 403-414.