| Title: | Soldiers in business: the pitfalls of METEC’s projects in the context of Ethiopia’s civil-military relations |
| Author: | Gebregziabher, Tefera Negash |
| Year: | 2019 |
| Periodical: | Review of African Political Economy (ISSN 0305-6244) |
| Volume: | 46 |
| Issue: | 160 |
| Pages: | 261-278 |
| Language: | English |
| Geographic term: | Ethiopia |
| External link: | https://doi.org/10.1080/03056244.2019.1613222 |
| Abstract: | This article critically chronicles the ascendancy and apparent decline of a business conglomerate, Metals and Engineering Corporation (METEC), in post-1991 Ethiopia. Informed by ‘developmental state’ ideology, the political elites managed to create METEC, entrusting it to the military for their use in leading the industrialisation of the country. With a sober analysis of the conglomerate’s engagement in mega-projects in the context of civil-military relations, this article shows that the ‘developmental role’ of METEC has been characterised by extreme delays in projects, with symptoms of financial embezzlement which have led the party-state to reconsider the military’s role in the economy. The article relies primarily on documents, informal discussions and media content analysis. |
Soldiers in business: the pitfalls of METEC’s projects in the context of Ethiopia’s civil-military relations
This article critically chronicles the ascendancy and apparent decline of a business conglomerate, Metals and Engineering Corporation (METEC), in post-1991 Ethiopia. Informed by ‘developmental state’ ideology, the political elites managed to create METEC, entrusting it to the military for their use in leading the industrialisation of the country. With a sober analysis of the conglomerate’s engagement in mega-projects in the context of civil-military relations, this article shows that the ‘developmental role’ of METEC has been characterised by extreme delays in projects, with symptoms of financial embezzlement which have led the party-state to reconsider the military’s role in the economy. The article relies primarily on documents, informal discussions and media content analysis.