Federalization with a Constitutional Guarantee to Secession: Controversies,Paradoxes and Imponderables in Ethiopia

Ethiopia's federal design has a number of anomalies interesting for comparative federalism. The explicit right to secede provided to member states has become, however, real political dynamite in the country. This article deals with this right, its constitutionalization, its constitutional and ideological underpinnings, and its practical impacts on federal construction in the country for the last two decades. It challenges the political expediency views on its constitutionalization and argues that the inclusion of the right in the federal constitution is motivated by ideological reasons. By having a look at the powers member states are provided by this ‘generous' constitution, it reveals its staggering paradoxes. As far as the practical impacts of the right are concerned, the hefty controversy the constitutionalization of the right has continued creating in the country, the article argues, is a significant federal nuisance.