Does Democracy Affect Ethnic Minority Rights? Evidence from Ethiopian Minorities

The management of internal minorities is one of the main problem to exercise democracy this is typically about the treatment of individuals that are not viewed as indigenous to the region in which they exist in. It is a broadly held conviction that democracy is useful for minorities. Even though no single Ethiopian region is ethnically homogeneous, ethnic minorities within each region are subjected to segregation and marginalized from political power and decision making. In order to conduct this study, academic literature papers, both Federal and Regional constitutions, theoretical literatures, laws, national and international covenants, policy documents, reports, and other legal documents were used. The purpose is to analyze the nexus between democracy and ethnic minority in Ethiopia. Protecting the rights of minorities is the main problem of a democracy due to the basic principle of democracy that is majority rule and minority right. In a situation where “majority rules” by what means can states ensure their citizen have fair treatment and equal opportunities, even those who are not part of the majority? This article follows to find answer for these questions and to recommend some solutions.