The role of the state in contemporary processes of late-late development. A diagnosis of the Ethiopian experience to illustrate a renewed debate

• Elena Pérez-Lagüela ^[1]
  1. [1] Universidad Complutense de Madrid

     Universidad Complutense de Madrid

     Madrid, España

     
• Localización: Revista Iberoamericana de Estudios de Desarrollo= Iberoamerican Journal of Development Studies, ISSN-e 2254-2035, Vol. 14, Nº. 2 (Julio-Diciembre 2025), 2025, págs. 62-85
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.26754/ojs_ried/ijds.9990
• Títulos paralelos:
  • El papel del Estado en los procesos contemporáneos de desarrollo tardío Diagnóstico de la experiencia etíope para ilustrar un debate renovado
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo (pdf)
• Resumen
  • español

    Los recientes resultados económicos en Etiopía han reavivado la investigación sobre el papel del Estado en los procesos de desarrollo. Evaluar la importancia de la experiencia etíope aporta información valiosa a la discusión sobre el alcance y los límites de la acción estatal en otras experiencias contemporáneas de desarrollo. En este artículo, se presenta un estudio de caso apoyado en entrevistas a élites realizadas durante trabajo de campo en Etiopía. Los resultados de nuestra investigación sugieren que, aunque es posible afirmar que el Estado etíope adquirió rasgos desarrollistas durante el período 1994-2015, la caracterización del Estado como «desarrollista» se utilizó para sostener el proyecto político personalista de Meles Zenawi. En Etiopía, el desarrollo dirigido por el Estado no fue solo una estrategia económica encaminada a la transformación estructural, sino más bien un medio para mantener el poder.

  • English

    Recent economic performance in Ethiopia has revived research on the role of the state in development processes. Assessing the relevance of the Ethiopian experience provides valuable insights to the discussion on the scope and limits of state action in other contemporary development experiences. This paper presents a case study based on elite interviews conducted during fieldwork in Ethiopia. The results of our research suggest that, while it is possible to argue that the Ethiopian state acquired developmentalist traits during the period 1994-2015, the characterisation of the state as «developmentalist» was used to sustain Meles Zenawi’s personalist political project. In Ethiopia, state-led development was not just an economic strategy aimed at structural transformation, but rather a means to maintain power.

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