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ISSN 0805-505X
ISBN 82-8062-010-9
Indexing terms
Political power
Political parties
Constitutions
Ethiopia
© Chr. Michelsen Institute 2002
CMI Reports
C M I
vii
Acknowledgements
Throughout the work with this study I have been privileged to have access to
many
people whom I could consult, be encouraged by and obtain information
from. As a student at Chr. Michelsen Institute, I have benefited greatly from the
advice of Siegfried Pausewang. He has been
particularly helpful in my
understanding of the Ethiopian context and so-called “empirical issues”. I
would also like to express my gratitude to the other staff at Chr. Michelsen
Institute for providing me with facilities and including me in their research
environment.
My supervisor at Department of Comparative Politics (University of Bergen),
Jan Oskar Engene, has given me prompt and clear
feedback on my drafts all
the way. As a generalist more than an Ethiopianist, he has asked me the right
questions to make this study accessible also for people who have no pre-
knowledge of Ethiopia.
I would like to thank Kjetil Tronvoll at
Norwegian Institute of Human
Rights in Oslo for facilitating the contact with Department of Political Science
and International Relations at Addis Ababa University. Tronvoll was also kind
to introduce me to many of his informants in Tigray region,
and he allowed me
to use “his” interpreter in Tigray.
I owe many thanks to several people at Department of Political Science and
International Relations in Addis Ababa. Among them are the department head
Asnake Kefale, Yacob Asano, Aklilu
Abraham and Merera Gudina, who all
took the time to discuss a range of issues with me and helped me with practical
matters during my stay in Ethiopia. Finally, I would like to express gratitude to
my interpreters and all the people who were willing
to share their views with
me during my field work in Ethiopia.