Ethiopia in Change: Peasantry, Nationalism, and Democracy (review)

Book Reviews 151 book lies in its optimistic 1991 view of what the TGE might accomplish in a period of transition. Theodore M. Vestal Oklahoma State University Ethiopia in Change: Peasantry, Nationalism, and Democracy Abebe Zegeye and Siegfried Pausewang, editors London: British Academic Press, 1994. Pp. xi, 333. Index. This edited volume contains an eclectic set of fifteen essays that analyze Ethiopia's recent past in an effort to draw implications for the challenges facing Ethiopia's new government today. Abebe Zegeye and Siegfried Pausewang argue that "a critical look back over the last 19 years of Ethiopian history can help define the issues confronting society today and show how best to make use of the lessons learned" (p. 1). The editors have assembled a wide range of scholars—mostly Ethiopians and many based in Addis Ababa—to attempt this task. Some of the contributions, most notably a superb essay by Dessalegn Rahmato, succeed in delivering on the editor's promise. Others, however, miss the mark, in part because they have lost much of their relevance in the eventful years since they were written in the 1980s. Abebe and Pausewang try to suggest some over-arching themes that arise from this collection in their thoughtful introduction. They argue that "if a general conclusion may be detected in the political analysis, it lies in the hope of a renewal of Ethiopian political culture through revitalization of the rural communities" (p. 10). Indeed, many of the authors emphasize the problems Mengistu Haile Mariam's regime created by attempting a top-down, authoritarian approach to agrarian issues and by hindering local initiatives and ignoring local knowledge. Some contributions, such as Bahru Zewde's thoughts on Haile Sellassie as a progressive turned reactionary, Randi Ronning Balsvik's recounting of the role of the Ethiopian Student Movement, and Dessalegn Rahmato's late 1980s research on food security and peasant survival strategies will be familiar to scholars who follow the literature in the field. Others, such as Eshetu Chole's critique of the Derg's economic policies (written in 1988) and Fantu Cheru's attack on structural adjustment, are well written and 152 Book Reviews argued but leave the reader wondering how they relate to changes introduced by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) following the regime change in 1991. The volume includes a number of articles that fill important gaps in the literature and therefore make it a valuable contribution to scholars of Ethiopia. Stefan Brune focuses on the often overlooked period of reforms initiated by Mengistu in March 1990, for it marked the abandonment of socialism and the adoption of a "mixed economy" strategy. Jonathan Baker's article "Small Urban Centres and their Role in Rural Restructuring" provides a useful overview of issues. In addition, Baker's analysis is one of the best in the book in terms of making solid, sensible projections of the challenges likely to face the new EPRDF administration based on his understanding of the past and careful analysis of the transitional government's early economic statements. Pausewang makes a strong case for the need for greater decentralization of political power and includes some information on his observations of the 1992 regional elections in Dembi Dolo. Pausewang concludes that "control of administrative power proved to be more important than popular support" in determining the outcome. Alexander Krylow's article, written before the 1992 regional elections, is remarkable for its prescience on a number of issues, including the importance for Ethiopia of the EPRDF-Oromo Liberation Front relationship. The most informative piece in the volume is Dessalegn's second contribution, entitled "The Unquiet Countryside: The Collapse of 'Socialism' and Rural Agitation, 1990 and 1991." This piece recaps Dessalegn's devastating critique of the Derg's economic policies, concluding that "agrarian socialism eventually came to be associated in peasant minds with the ideology of poverty" (p. 247). Dessalegn moves on to analyze the March 1990 reforms and argues convincingly that they represented a top-down counter-revolution that was as significant to peasants as the great reforms of March 1975. Dessalegn also analyzes how peasants responded in May 1991 to the collapse of the old order, looting some institutions (particularly...