Telecommunications as an Archetype of State-led Development: Examining the Merits and Limitations of the Ethiopian Model

• In Event: EXTENDED SESSION PART 2: Global Communication and Social Change in African Contexts

Abstract

After the end of command economy in 1991, Ethiopia adopted a quasi-capitalist economic program that modeled the state as an active player in the country’s development agenda. One of the main tenets the current government’s development models is state ownership of the commanding heights of its economy, including the telecommunications sector. A rare breed in the era of deregulation, Ethiopia’s state-controlled telecommunications sector has been a source of intense debate involving different stakeholders, especially the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Primarily based on analysis of interviews, this essay explores discourses of divergent telecommunications policies and their implications on development. Findings indicate, while the Ethiopian government’s rationale of state control of telecommunication for equitable growth is a valid proposition, the policy has created a revolving door scenario between developmentalism and neopatrimonialism that oftentimes trumps the agency of end-users.

Author

• Tewodros Workalemahu Workneh, Kent State University