Developmental State Paradigm in Ethiopia: Lessons for the Horn of Africa

The notion of developmental state was born with the economic success of South East Asian countries in the 1960s and 1970s. However, the actual definition of the term was first coined in 1981 by Chalmers Johns o . The theory describes the importance of state involvement in th e economy of a nation with a view to enhance econom ic development and prosperity. Ethiopia has been exercising developmental state pa radigm since 2002 with different challenges and achievements. Exploring the challenges and achievem ents of the theory from Ethiopian perspectives is i mportant to draw lessons for other Horn of African countries. Indeed , in Ethiopian context the paradigm has increasingl y contributed to the economic growth of the state. It has also its o wn challenges such as dysfunction politics and lead rship that contributed for the prevalence corruption and malad ministration in the state. In the Horn of Africa, t here are notable opportunities that enable other states in the regio n to practice the developmental state model such as the existence of economic cooperation and regional integration to en sure peace and avoid conflict. However, there are c hallenges that may hinder to practice it in the region such as the prevalence of poverty, the absence of peace and st ability, the absence of democracy and the prevalence of corruption in th e region. The objective of this paper is to explore th challenges and opportunities to practice developmental state parad igm in the horn of Africa with a special focus on E thiopia’s emerging experience.