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Abstract
State-building and development are mutually reinforcing phenomena. The sustainability of development depends on the stability of state's political-structural foundation and the prospect of peace, which is influenced by the origin and evolution of the state. Every regime in Ethiopia has portrayed its advent as a new dawn for the country's development. In recent history, the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) introduced a "developmental state" model and registered notable economic growth on aggregate but failed on accounts of equitable distribution. The EPRDF regime used the "developmental state" model to enhance the centralization of state power and circumvent regional autonomy. In 2018, the Prosperity Party (PP) introduced a "prosperity" model. From the EPRDF to the PP, there are signals of a radical shift of approach in state-building and development. This article analyzes the premises and promises of the multinational federation and "developmental state" model under the EPRDF regime, and the unitarist orientation and "prosperity" paradigm under the PP. I argue that the radical shift of direction from the multinational federalism towards a unitary state is unrealistic and fundamentally shatters the prospect of development.

English abstract: Land is a key resource and an epicenter of struggle in Ethiopia, as indicated by the incident that sparked a powerful protest in Oromia in 2015. The protest quickly galvanized against the Addis Ababa Master Plan, which government officials represented as a "development plan," while the protesters counter-framed it as a "Master Killer," highlighting the immanent risks of land dispossession and displacement of people. This article employs a political-ecological approach to examine environmental, socio-cultural, and political-economic implications of the Master Plan and the resistance against it as a signifier of wider issues of contestation connected to land and displacement. It highlights contemporary grievances of the Oromo people in relation to unresolved historical questions and outlines the responses of the government to the protest.Spanish abstract:La tierra es un recurso clave y un epicentro de lucha en Etiopía. En el 2015 surgió una poderosa protesta en Oromia contra el Plan Maestro de Addis Abeba, presentado por el gobierno como un "plan de desarrollo", mientras que los manifestantes lo enmarcaron como un "Asesino Maestro", destacando los inminentes riesgos de la desposesión de tierras y el desplazamiento de personas. Este artículo emplea un enfoque político-ecológico para examinar las implicaciones ambientales, socioculturales y político-económicas del Plan Maestro y la resistencia en su contra como resultado de temas más amplios de disputa relacionados con la tierra y el desplazamiento. Destaca las quejas contemporáneas de la gente de Oromo en relación con preguntas históricas no resueltas y describe las respuestas del gobierno a la protesta.French abstract: La terre est une ressource clef et un motif central de conflit en Éthiopie. Les circonstances actuelles du pays accentuent cette tendance historique. En témoigne la protestation des Oromos contre le Programme Directeur d'Addis-Abeba que les fonctionnaires présentent comme un programme de développement alors que les protestataires le désignent comme "un maître-tueur", en pointant les risques de dépossession de la terre et de déplacement de populations qui lui sont inhérents. Cet article utilise une approche d'écologie politique pour examiner ses implications dans le sens d'une protestation autour de la terre et du déplacement. Il analyse le programme directeur et la protestation des Oromos dans le cadre des principes idéologiques et structurels du gouvernement, de ses politiques et de ses pratiques.

This article examines the politics of institutional governance of displacements and the intersecting experiences of environmental justice, drawing on case studies of flood disasters and urban displacements in Villahermosa, Mexico, and government-sponsored displacements and resettlements in rural Oromia, Ethiopia. We argue that a fuller understanding of how institutional governance produces multiple marginalisations requires political-ecological and intersectional analyses of residents' experiences of injustices that encompass interlinkages between social position, gender and political power. The analysis is based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in Mexico and Ethiopia, comprising interviews, participant observation, document analysis and surveys. The study shows similarities and differences in patterns of governance, mechanisms of marginalisation and relations of authority and power concerning differentiated displacements and everyday vulnerabilities in different contexts of the global South. Our analysis enriches theoretical understanding of governance and justice, demonstrating how multiple marginalities are produced, reinforced and contested through political processes imbricated with forms of governance characterised by institutional intrusion and absence. ; Peer reviewed

This article analyzes recent state-implemented resettlement schemes in Oromia, Ethiopia, by examining the experiences and outcomes of resettlement from the perspective of both the resettlers and hosts. Besides involving transformations in people's access to resources and the ability to earn their livelihoods, resettlement invites deep-seated questions of governance and justice. Drawing on theoretical approaches of political ecology and environmental justice, we analyze the processes and outcomes of resettlement in terms of four interlinked dimensions, including resource (re)distribution, cultural recognition, political representation, and social recovery. Special attention is paid to the questions of who decides for whom, and who lives the consequences. The analysis is based on a mixed-methods approach, involving a combination of qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey. We conclude that both the resettlers and the hosts experienced uneven redistribution of resources and unfair forms of recognition and political representation, which in tandem limited their possibilities for social recovery. ; Peer reviewed