Paper short abstract:

Placing political ideology, and the role of leadership and government communication, at the centre of analysis, this paper explores the relationship between the state, journalists and social media users in contemporary Ethiopia.

Paper long abstract:

This paper explores the development and evolution of government communication in Ethiopia. It places ideas at the centre, arguing that the relationship between the state and media, or the development of media systems more generally, can only be understood in relation to a country's broader political project, which in the case of Ethiopia is 'revolutionary democracy' or the 'developmental democratic state'. The paper traces the approach the EPRDF adopted towards propaganda during the struggle and how this affected the way in which it approached its relationship with media institutions (primarily state media) and private media. It critically examines the failed process of reconciliation, often reflecting the views of those from the previous regime, and the extent to which the private media became a vehicle for challenging the fundamentals of the nationbuilding project and tenants of the EPRDF's political ideology. I conclude by focusing on the 2015 elections and the extent to which they have become a 'non-event' in the media, including social media. While the 2005 elections had a comparatively vibrant media environment that contributed to the contentious elections, the EPRDF has laboured over the past 10 years to consolidate power through implementing some of their more ambitious ideas of revolutionary democracy, including intensive media restrictions and 'political education' targeting journalists and bloggers. While challenging the effectiveness of such an approach, arguing that fundamental state fragilities remain, this paper seeks to explain how and in what cases journalists (and citizens more broadly) have both absorbed and resisted intensive state interventions.