ABSTRACT
When the 17-year regime of Mengistu Haile Mariam collapsed in Ethiopia, there followed considerable confusion and dispute over the nature of the government that replaced Mengistu’s Dergue and took control of the Ethiopian state. The group that moved into power in May of 1991 with the open support of the United States declared its intent to introduce democracy into Ethiopia. This was astonishing news. The EPRDF, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, 2 was the least likely of the potential candidates in the region to promote popular grassroots democracy.
