After the fall of Haile Selassie in 1974 Ethiopian society experienced a short period of unprecedented freedom and decentralization. This was followed by one of the most stringent regimes of centralized control over people and resources, in the name of socialism. This volume contains contributions by Ethiopian and European scholars from several disciplines who review the historical issues, economic policy, environmental questions and politics. They try to draw lessons from the past and suggest solutions by which the local people - the peasants and the poor - can be involved in a more decentralized structure which will harness their resources, initiatives and capacities.