Laying the Past to Rest
The EPRDF and the Challenges of Ethiopian State-Building
Mulugeta Gebrehiwot Berhe
A Hurst Publication
Reviews and Awards
"This book deserves to be a reference book for everyone interested in the history of TPLF/EPRDF in Ethiopia ... It is a highly illuminating book, filling a serious gap in the discourse about the TPLF/EPRDF."-- World Peace Foundation
"Celebrated or demonised, but rarely understood: the EPRDF is central to Ethiopia's contemporary history. Mulugeta Berhe provides the crucial missing element to that story. A true insider's account of how a rural revolution triumphed, transformed the country, and lost its way. Empirically rich, theoretically cogent, and incisively critical."-- Alex de Waal, Executive Director of the World Peace Foundation and Research Professor at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University
"Mulugeta's book draws uniquely on first-hand accounts of key politico-military junctures, a treasure trove of primary documents and incisive personal memories to tell the story of one of Africa's most remarkable state-building projects. A much-awaited and much-needed memoir of an important actor."-- Harry Verhoeven, Associate Professor at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, and author of Why Comrades Go To War: Liberation Politics and the Outbreak of Africa's Deadliest Conflict
"A rare, first-hand, yet critical assessment of the TPLF/EPRDF's military victory and subsequent transition to government in Ethiopia. This book makes an important contribution to understanding a crucial period in Ethiopian history, with much wider implications for Africa as a whole.'"-- Christopher Clapham, Professor Emeritus of African Studies, University of Cambridge
"An absorbing and critical account of the rise of the TPLF/EPRDF, animated by the internal perspective of an author who fought in and served the liberation movement. Essential reading for students of Ethiopia, liberation movements, and democratic transitions in a post-communist world."-- Andreas Eshete, UNESCO chair for Peace, Human rights, and Democracy, and former President of Addis Ababa University
"A poignant, critical and expert study of the TPLF/EPRDF through the eyes of an insider. Essential reading not only for students of liberation fronts, Ethiopia, and democratic transitions, but also for current and former members of the TPLF/EPRDF."-- Abay Tsehaye, one of the founders, longest serving leaders and former chairman of the TPLF.
"A sharp and ultimately excruciating critique of the party to which [Mulugeta Gebrehiwot Berhe] once dedicated his life." -- Foreign Policy
"A sympathetic yet thoughtful critical analysis . . . a remarkable case study." -- CHOICE
"Essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand contemporary Ethiopian politics ... a remarkable work of scholarship." -- H-Africa