Paper short abstract:

In 2019, the Prime Minister of Ethiopia won a Nobel Peace Prize. The following year, he led the most brutal war and did it with the Parliament's approval. As the prime minister pulled resources from allies to subjugate the Tigrayan resistance, the Parliament's role remained obscure.

Paper long abstract:

The focus of this presentation is to explore the role and place of the Ethiopian Parliament in the Tigray war. After the election of Abiy Ahmed as the Prime minister of Ethiopia on April 2, 2018, there was hope for a healthy political engagement and widening democracy. Since then, things have changed dramatically. In 2019, the Prime Minster got a Nobel Peace Prize in 'anticipation' of peace with Eritrea. In 2020, the Prime Minister led one of the most brutal wars in recent memories and did it with the Parliament's approval. As the prime minister pulled resources from allies to subjugate the Tigrayan resistance, the Parliament's role remained obscure. Evidence shows that the Parliament was in the shadow dictated by the Prime Minister and kept appeasing Abiy Ahmed.

Following the challenges of democracy in shallow democracies (Crewe, 2018) and the culture of setting political differences in Ethiopia (Tadesse et al., 2021), an ethnographic inquiry into the role of the Parliament during the war is crucial. After the Prime Minister's abrupt rebranding of the coalition party Ethiopian Revolutionary Democratic Front ( EPRDF) to the Prosperity Party (PP) in 2019, regional states' autonomy was at stake. Exploring the interplay between the lawmakers and the executive branches of government and how each navigated would yield a better understanding of the Tigray War and the healing process that is desperately needed.

Keywords

Parliamentary democracy, Ethiopian Parliament, Abiy Ahmed, Tigray National Regional State