For anyone interested in the recent economic and political development of Ethiopia since the Mengistu-regime backed by the Soviet Union was overthrown in 1991, this book is a clear must read. But the question guiding the study is indeed much broader. The author asks how can the amazing rapid economic development in a poor country such as Ethiopia, with its long and independent history and culture, be reconciled with democracy, taking into account the African context under the existing global conditions after the end of the Cold War.
