THE PEASANT AND THE STATE: Studies in Agrarian Change in Ethiopia 1950s - 2000s [Paperback]

Dessalegn Rahmato (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 14, 2008

This volume brings together a number of studies on rural Ethiopia written by the author in recent years and offered as a contribution to the emerging debate on agrarian change in the country. The broad time frame for the work is the last half-century of modern Ethiopia, from the 1950s to the beginning of the 2000s, a period which coincides politically with the country's three regimes, namely the imperial regime of Haile Sellassie, which was replaced by a military-Stalinist junta known as the Derg, and the present regime which came to power after overthrowing the latter. Over this half century much has changed in the country but much also remains the same. Similarly, while the three political regimes differ radically in a number of significant respects, they also have many things in common, particularly in their relations to the peasantry, their quest for a strong presence in the countryside, and, in some respects, in their approach to development management.

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About the Author

DESSALEGN RAHMATO was formerly the Executive Director of the Forum for Social Studies, an independent policy research institution based in Addis Ababa. Before that, he was a senior research fellow at the Institute of Development Research, Addis Ababa University, which he left in 1997. He has published numerous works on land and agrarian issues, food security, rural resettlement, environmental policy, civil society and democratization. Dessalegn is the winner of the 1999 Prince Claus Award given by the Prince Claus Fund of the Netherlands to individuals from the Third World considered to have made significant contributions to their societies

Product Details

• Paperback: 358 pages
• Publisher: CreateSpace (August 14, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1438266537
• ISBN-13: 978-1438266534
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,386,679 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Peasant and the State, March 22, 2009

By 

Aaron Tesfaye - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: THE PEASANT AND THE STATE: Studies in Agrarian Change in Ethiopia 1950s - 2000s (Paperback)

Dessgalegn Rahmato is Ethiopia's leading scholar on land tenure and development and he has written a seminal book on why Ethiopian agriculture had not developed in the past and why the nation still struggles to overcome food insecurity.
Rahamato argues the agrarian class structure of Ethiopia remained unchanged for over a century, until the collapse of the imperial regime, because of the lack of the emergence of an intermediate class, which contributed to social stagnation as a critical factor in agricultural revolution. Second, the land tenure system and its social relations further discouraged the emergence of innovative elements in Ethiopian society. Third, there was an attempt at commercial agriculture under the ancien regime of Emperor Haile Selassie. However, Rahmato argues that rural capitalism in Ethiopia during this period led to large-scale evictions of peasants and contends its development would have been much more complex, requiring more increasing massive peasant displacements hence discontent and disorder. He notes that such rural capitalist---in the years of the ancien regime-- was "transient" buffeted by the oscillation of world grain market, declining productivity and higher prices of imported machinery and spare parts.
Rahmato, notes that land reform instituted by the subsequent military regime, or Derg, (1977-91) was meant to undercuts the social base of the ancienct class system. However in practice it was weakened by long drawn out opposition in Wollo, influenced by the gentry. That the situation was made worse by the collapse of state power brought about by regional rebel movements who wanted to establish their presence and that in any case the military regime's agrarian socialism was unpopular among Ethiopia's peasants.
The author then discusses the condition of contemporary Ethiopian peasant. He notes the formalization of land rights in the form of registration and titles is not enough and cannot guarantee robust security because the peasant does not have a negotiating power. Rahmato argues that the relationship between the state and the peasant will have to change to enable the latter to secure and defend property rights. He notes such rights can come via social movements and advocacy groups that may be influential in changing state policies. The book is well researched and written and is a major contribution to agrarian change, rural studies, development and an addition to knowledge in the relationship between the state and society.