ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an insight into the merits of Tigrayan Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF)/Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) ideological conceptions and policies that shaped the Ethiopian federal experiment. In addition to the wider practice of the traditional Marxist ideological weapons such as democratic centralism, the TPLF/EPRDF has put forward revised ideological versions such as revolutionary democracy and developmental state doctrines. These ideological weapons have been largely used to control the federal system in various ways and largely override the principles adopted in the constitution. The only difference between the former socialist federations and the Ethiopian system in this respect is that while the former socialist federations did not permit multi-party systems, the Ethiopian federal system formally allows multi-party democracy while the country is practically a one-party state. TPLF/EPRDF itself or its affiliate parties that are under its firm control directly govern all the regions in the Ethiopian federal system.
