by Messay Kebede* – Posted by The Ethiopia Observatory
“The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain government.”
– Patrick Henry
The prevailing assumption, which originates from the ideologues of ethnic politics, is that identity politics is a direct consequence of social inequalities resulting from the political or/and economic marginalization of groups of people defined by linguistic, racial, cultural, or religious particularisms. In response to the discrimination perpetuated by dominant groups, excluded groups politicize their particularisms to fight back and win equal treatments. They thus draw on their particularisms to forge political organizations that give them unity of purpose, articulate their grievances, and design strategies to implement their demands.
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Tags: bantustanization, ethnic divisions, ethnic politics, group identity, individual rights, Meles Zenawi, TPLF politics