Contested Power in Ethiopia ─ Traditional Authorities and Multi-Party Elections

This book explores the complex interrelationships between multi-party elections and traditional authorities in Ethiopia and is based on nine case studies of the country's 2005 regional and national elections, which were contested. Subjects addressed include: an introduction to traditional authorities and multi-party elections in the country, electoral politics in the Nuer cultural context, the power of clans and social strata in the Wolayta elections, urban youth and relations of power, customary institutions in contemporary politics in Borana Zone in Oromia, and inherited status and parliamentary elections in Dawro in southern Ethiopia. Editors Tronvoll (human rights, U. of Oslo, Norway), Hagmann (visiting scholar, U.C. Berkeley), and eight co-authors contributed to the book. Annotation c2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Kjetil Tronvoll, PhD (2003) in political anthropology from LSE, is professor of human rights at the University of Oslo and Senior Partner of the International Law and Policy Institute. He has published extensively on the Horn of Africa, and his latest monograph is War and the Politics of Identity in Ethiopia (James Currey, 2009).Tobias Hagmann, Ph.D. (2007), University of Lausanne, is a visiting scholar at UC Berkeley. He has published on politics in the Horn of Africa and is co-editor of Negotiating Statehood: Dynamics of Power and Domination in Africa (Wiley Blackwell, 2011).