TPLF: Reform or Decline?

In: Review of African political economy, Band 30, Heft 97, S. 389-403

Abstract

Discusses the crisis within the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) of Ethiopia. The crisis was rooted in the war with Eritrea, when leadership divisions within the TPLF regarding the conduct of war resulted in factionalism. When the TPLF Central Committee split in 2001, a leadership purge -- called a "renewal" -- occurred in the TPLF & its Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), leading to Meles Zenawi's rise to dominance in both entities as dissidents were removed. He initiated reforms cited as a shift away from the EPRDF's Marxist-Leninist origins; however, the highly publicized decentralization program was not a major point of contention in the TPLF, thus, in terms of policies & programs, change has been marginal. In this light, it is contended that political & ideological differences cannot account entirely for the TPLF crisis. The TPLF is then considered in terms of successful peasant-based revolutions to glean points of similarity & difference. It is concluded that the TPLF suffered under the burden of a power struggle between Meles & a dozen of his colleagues, between state elements & the party apparatus, & between Tigray-based TPLF officials & those close to Meles. Evident is a power shift from Tigray to the Addis Ababa central government & from elements of the TPLF Central Committee to the prime minister. Issues of legitimacy & the role of culture in the crisis are touched on. It is concluded that unless Meles can create a broader, pan-Ethiopian power base, his position will remain insecure. This means that as first the TPLF & then the Meles core have effectively merged with the state, the TPLF & state face a crisis of legitimacy. 10 References. J. Zendejas