UNIT: ONE

BUILDING A DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM

Lessons
1. Basic Principles of the Ethiopian Constitution
2. Human and Democratic Rights and the Ethiopian Constitution
3. Citizens’ Obligations/Duties
4. Features of a Democratic System
5. Federalism
6. Ethiopia and International Relations
INTRODUCTION
The meaning of democracy
 Etymologically, the word democracy is derived from two Greek words: demos and
kratos, which means people and rule respectively.
 Therefore, the original sense of democracy means “rule by the people”.
 Democracy first originated in Geeks “Athens.
Democracy is a complex and illusive concept. There is no universally agreed definition
of democracy because different politicians, writers, educators, and philosophers define
democracy in different ways.
For example:
According to:
 Abraham Lincoln, democracy is defined as” the government of the people, by the
people and for the people”.
 Thomas Jefferson was the second President of the USA. Apart from being
President of the United States of America, he is known as one of the founding
fathers of America’s democracy. He wrote the famous ‘Declaration of
Independence’.
N.B Democracy is a system of government in which the supreme or the highest political
power resides in the hands of the people.
Lessons 1: Basic Principles of the Ethiopian (FDRE) Constitution (from Article 8-12)
a. The sovereignty of the people(Article:8)
 Power emanates from the people.

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  Refers to the supreme or ultimate power of the state is vested in the people.
 In other words, people are the source of power or legitimate authority to
govern or hold political power.
 Therefore in democratic countries the source of the power is the people.
b. The supremacy of the Constitution(Article:9)
 The Constitution is the supreme law of the land.
 The Constitution is the highest law of the country in the hierarchy of laws.
 The Constitution is above all other laws.
 All laws they confirm to it.
c. The respect of human and democratic rights(Article:10)
 Democratic political systems are characterized by the recognition of human
and democratic rights in which individuals, groups, children, and women have
certain basic rights, which have to be protected and promoted by the
government.
d. The separation of state and religion/Securalism(Article:11)
 Secularism is mostly understood to mean separation of state and religion.
 The state doesn’t interfere to the religion and the religion also doesn’t
interfere to the state.
e. Transparency and accountability of the government (Article: 12).
 Accountability refers to the idea that elected public officials must be
responsible to the electorate for their decisions and actions.
 Transparency refers to a state of being when the decisions and actions of a
government are clear and open to the public. Or, it is a situation where people
have the rights and opportunities to know how government policies and
decisions are made. In this case, the government is required to create the
situation for citizens to have access to the mass media and information.
The Constitution, under Article 12, states the conduct and accountability of government:
I. The conduct of affairs of government shall be transparent.
II. Any public official or an elected representative is accountable for any failure in
official duties.

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 Lesson 2: Human and Democratic Rights and the Ethiopian Constitution

In a democracy there are fundamental rights and freedoms that citizens enjoy. The
Ethiopian Constitution lists these rights and freedoms in two categories. They are
human rights and democratic rights.
Note: Human rights and democratic rights do not exist in separation; rather they form a
whole.
a. Human rights
 Innate/natural rights.
 Human rights are those basic freedoms and rights that belong to every
individual or people purely by virtue of their being human beings.
Features of human rights: they are
1. Universal:
 That shall be enjoyed by all human beings regardless of their sex, age, race, class,
language, national origin, or political beliefs. We are all born free and equal, in
dignity and rights.
 Human rights are also called universal because their core ideas are common to
all major religions, faiths, moral codes and cross-national and cultural
boundaries.
2. Inalienable and
 That cannot be taken away; no one has the right to legitimately deprive another
person of these rights for any reason.
 A citizen has the rights and moreover, the obligation to insist that the state
provides for their protection and unlimited use.
 People have human rights even when the laws of their countries do not
recognize them, or when they violate them. For example, when slavery was
practiced, slaves still had human rights even though these rights were being
violated.
3. Indivisible & interrelated.
 This means that all the rights together form a set that cannot be divided into
smaller groups of rights.

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  To live in dignity, all human beings are entailed to freedom, security and decent
standards of living concurrently. Though they are called by different names and
sometimes separated into different categories, every right depends on another
for its fulfillment.
 No right can really be put into practice without other rights.
For example,
 The right to education is classified as a social right but it would not be possible
for all people to get that right if there was no right to equality, or if there was no
court to uphold that right. Without this, only some people would get to school
while others could be left out.
4. birthrights
 All human beings are born with.
 They do not have to be bought, earned or inherited; they belong to all people
simply because they are human.
 They are rights people acquire naturally, by merely being born as human beings.
Examples
 Right to Life
 Right to Liberty
 Right of Persons Arrested
 Right of Persons Accused
 Right to Honour and Reputation
 Right to Equality
 Right to Privacy
 The Right of the Security of Person
 The Rights of Persons Held in Custody and Convicted Prisoners
 Prohibition against Inhuman Treatment
 Non-retroactivity of Criminal Law
 Prohibition of Double-Jeopardy
 Freedom of Religion, Belief and Opinion
 Crimes against Humanity
b. Democratic rights

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  These rights are given by the government in the constitution.
 They are varying from country to country.
Examples:
 The Right of Assembly, Demonstration and Petition
 Freedom of Association
 Freedom of Movement
 Rights of Nationality
 Marital, Personal and Family Rights
 Rights of Women
 Rights of Children
 Right of Access to Justice
 The Right to Vote and to be Elected
 Rights of Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples
 The Right to Property
 Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
 Rights of Labour
 The Right to Development
 Environmental Rights
Lesson 3: Citizens’ Obligations/Duties
 Your obligations arise from the rights you enjoy.
 You are given rights, but with these come duties.
 As you have rights to enjoy, you have obligations to fulfill.
There are many obligations that citizens have; they include the following:
 respect for religious equality;
 respect for gender equality;
 respect for the rights of others;
 Respect for the national flag and
 Defending your country in times of war and invasion.
N.B: In a democracy your obligations and rights are kept in balance. For example, you have
the right to freedom of thought, opinion and expression. Using these rights you can stage
demonstrations. To participate and organize demonstrations is part of your democratic

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rights. However, the use of this right requires an obligation to fulfill. You are obliged to
apply for permission from the government office.
Lesson 4: Features of a Democratic System
These are:
1. The rule of law
 No one is above the law.
 Both the government and the governed are subjected to the law.
 Both public officials and ordinary people abide by and behave in accordance with
the law.
2. Separation of Powers
 The division of power b/n the federal government and regional governments.
 The doctrine of separation of powers refers to the idea that political power
should be divided among several bodies or officers of the state.
3. Free, fair and periodic election
 One way to ensure a democratic system is through fair, free and periodic elections.
 Fair election is conducted when parties in an election are treated equally.
 Free election is conducted when there is no threat, intimidation, or harassment on
party candidates and their followers, and when they are able to campaign without
problems.
 Periodic election means conducting elections regularly.
4. Majority rule and minority rights
 Basically, democracy is the rule of the majority.
 The government is required to act based on the decision of the majority. But the
government is also required to respect the rights of the minority. The minority has
also the duty to be governed by the majority.
5. Multi-party system
 Multi-party system refers to the existence of two or more than two political parties
competing to hold political power through democratic election.
 Parties exist and compete in elections in democratic political systems. Therefore, the
existence of political parties is crucial to make meaningful political practices,

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 because, they provide voters with policy and program choices of developmental
activities.
6. Equality before the law
 Equality can be stated as a state of being when individuals are treated impartially
without their differences in terms of color, sex, political attitude, religion etc. In this
case, the concept of equality denotes that citizens are provided with equal rights,
privileges, and entitled with equal protection of the law and entrusted with equal
duties or responsibilities.
7. The five Basic Principles of the Ethiopian (FDRE) Constitution (from Article 8-12)
Lesson 5: Federalism
Federalism is a system of government where power is divided between federal and
regional governments. The federal and the regional constitutions define the relationship
and the power division existing between the federal and the regional governments. The
power of the federal and the regional governments is clearly stated in the Federal
Constitution. Some powers exclusively reside in the federal government, and some other
powers reside in the regional states. There are areas in which both the governments
exercise concurrent power. For example, the collection of revenue and tax is the area
where the two governments exercise power at the same time.
The Federal Government has the power to conduct foreign policy matters, national defense
and security. The regional governments are in charge of local administration. Their
jurisdiction includes managing education, health and the police force within their
respective territories.
Federalism is an incentive to empower citizens at all levels to exercise power within their
own area.
It builds confidence among people when they are able to manage their own affairs. It also
helps to create a sense of responsibility among citizens to respect each other’s rights, in
order to live in peace and dignity.
In other words, federalism paves the way for a unity that arises from diversity. Unity in a
multicultural setting can be nurtured when you are able to appreciate diversity in a
positive way.

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Lesson 6: Ethiopia and International Relations
Foreign relations mainly refer to the external relations of different countries.
In today’s world, the actors in foreign relations are
 states
 regional organizations
 international organizations and
 Non-government organizations ( like World Bank, International Monetary
Fund (IMF) and even the UN, EU, and AU)
Foreign relations of a country are carried out through foreign policy and diplomacy.
Foreign policy refers to a policy regulating a particular country’s relations with other
states and peoples in the international arena. The objective of foreign policy is promotes
cordial relationships with countries for mutual benefits. When a change of government
occurs in a country, its foreign policy may change.
Diplomacy is the instrument to execute foreign policy. It refers to the practiced art of
official representation abroad of sovereign states by persons and organizations specialized
in such conduct. The basic functions of diplomacy have been to convey and gather
information relevant to a country.
Those working in diplomatic missions assist in the formulation of foreign policies made by
governments in matters of war and peace. Thus, foreign relations of countries need to be
guided by well thought-out and formulated foreign policy and carried out through effective
diplomacy.
Ethiopia has geographically determined relations with some countries. It has a number of
rivers that flow into other countries that benefit from this resource. Such rivers can
determine a special type of relation between the countries that these rivers cross. The Blue
Nile, Tekeze, Aqobo and Baro flow to the Sudan and Egypt. Wabishebelle, Genale and Dawa
rivers flow to Somalia. These countries will have to come together to make agreements in
how to use these resources equitably.
Generally, Ethiopia had play prominent roles in international affairs. These are
1. Founder of United Nation (UN)
2. one of the pioneers in creating the Non-Aligned Movement
3. members of league of Nation in 1923 three years later its establishment

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4. Pioneered the establishment of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), now the
African Union (AU) and Addis Ababa became its headquarters.
5. Contributed to the formation of sub-regional organizations such as COMESA
(Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa) and IGAD (Intergovernmental
Authority for Development).
6. Ethiopia contributed peacekeeping forces to UN missions in Korea, Congo,
Rwanda, Burundi, Liberia, Darfur, South Sudan and Somalia.
7. Ethiopia played commendable role to end the last vestiges of colonialism in
Angola, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Guinea Bissau and Namibia.
8. It also played a part in bringing an end to the racist apartheid rule in South Africa.
9. It is home to the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and over one
hundred diplomatic missions of governments.
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