Unpacking ‘public silence’: Civil society activism under authoritarian rule in Ethiopia
| Published date | 01 December 2023 |
| Author | Camille Louise Pellerin |
| Date | 01 December 2023 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/pad.2026 |
Received: 15 December 2021
-
Revised: 6 July 2023
-
Accepted: 1 August 2023
DOI: 10.1002/pad.2026
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Unpacking ‘public silence’: Civil society activism under
authoritarian rule in Ethiopia
Camille Louise Pellerin
Department of Government, Uppsala
University, Uppsala, Sweden
Correspondence
Camille Louise Pellerin.
Email: Camille.pellerin@statsvet.uu.se
Funding information
London School of Economics and Political
Sciences; Swedish Research Council for
Health, Working Life and Welfare, Grant/
Award Number: 2020‐00057; Swedish
Research Council, Grant/Award Number:
2019‐03564
Abstract
How do civil society organisations (CSOs) and the state interact in non‐democratic
settings? Non‐democratic regimes often meet civil society activism with repression,
however, on an every‐day basis contestation and control take more diverse forms.
To capture how CSOs bargain with and contest state power, as well as how states
police CSOs, this article draws on the case of Ethiopia (1991–2018). It analyses
different types of interactions between service providing CSOs and state actors and
studies when and how CSOs have been able to place their demands on state actors
and when and to what extend their demands have been adhered to. Looking beyond
the absence of public protests against the ruling government by CSOs, the article
argues that CSOs, including those formally aligned to or co‐opted by the regime,
have been resourceful in devising strategies that promote the interests of their
members and beneficiaries. Defying co‐optation, they have constantly negotiated
space through a combination of cooperation, coexistence and contestation.
KEYWORDS
authoritarian rule, civil society, civil Society–State relations, Ethiopia, NGO
1
|
INTRODUCTION
How do civil society organisations (CSOs) and the state interact in
non‐democratic settings? Research on state‐civil society relations has
yet to develop a theory that can account for the complexity and
variations of their relations and interactions in non‐democratic
settings.
In the 1990s, the “third wave of democratisation” (Hunting-
ton, 1993) sparked much enthusiasm about the potential of civil
society to promote democracy. Drawing on Tocquevillian ideas, civil
society was thought necessary for liberal democracy to emerge
(Diamond, 1994; Gellner, 1994). Consequently, the relationship be-
tween CSOs and non‐democratic regimes was conceptualised as
antagonistic, with CSOs checking and balancing state power and
pushing for more accountable forms of governance. Research
explored the possible causal link between civil society and democracy
and tried to delineate the concept empirically, measuring and map-
ping the organisational density and diversity of civil society in
different contexts (Anheier, 2004; Heinrich, 2005; Putnam, 1995).
However, global democratic backsliding and the growing co‐
existence between CSOs and non‐democratic governments have
questioned the potential and willingness of civil society to bring
about sustainable democratic transition (Cavatorta, 2013).
To understand why the presence of CSOs in many non‐
democratic settings has not led more systematically to democrat-
isation, a growing canon of work has explored civil society activism
under non‐democratic rule. Research highlighted that non‐
democratic governments were able to control civil society and
This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution‐NonCommercial‐NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any
medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non‐commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
© 2023 The Authors. Public Administration and Development published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Public Admin Dev. 2023;43:331–342. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pad
-
331
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeStart Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting