A growing body of research argues that development assistance bolsters authoritarian regimes in Africa, but its impact on regime dominance remains underexplored. This article traces the material legacy of an ambitious rural development project in Ethiopia, including its ideational elements, and reveals its consequences for the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), the incumbent regime at the time. The Merhabete Integrated Rural Development Project, implemented by the non-governmental organization Menschen für Menschen between 1988 and 2009, built clinics, schools, a hospital, offices, roads, and other facilities in the Merhabete district of Ethiopia’s Amhara region. Based on original fieldwork conducted 10 years after the project closed, I show that the project’s infrastructure significantly extended the regime’s presence in the district. However, these same structures also helped shape local ideas of the state, by exemplifying what a good mengist (government or state) might look like; this acted to weaken people’s acceptance of EPRDF rule. These findings inform our understanding of the relationship between aid and authoritarianism and demonstrate the need to consider development schemes’ long-term material legacies.

中文翻译：

---

建立国家观念？埃塞俄比亚政权的主导地位和开发项目的物质遗产


越来越多的研究认为，发展援助支持了非洲的专制政权，但其对政权主导地位的影响仍未得到充分探索。本文追溯了埃塞俄比亚一个雄心勃勃的农村发展项目的物质遗产，包括其意识形态元素，并揭示了它对当时的现任政权埃塞俄比亚人民革命民主阵线 （EPRDF） 的影响。1988 年至 2009 年期间，非政府组织 Menschen für Menschen 实施了 Merhabete 农村综合发展项目，在埃塞俄比亚阿姆哈拉地区的 Merhabete 区建造了诊所、学校、医院、办公室、道路和其他设施。根据项目结束 10 年后进行的原始实地调查，我表明该项目的基础设施显着扩展了该政权在该地区的影响力。然而，这些相同的结构也通过举例说明一个好的 mengist（政府或国家）可能是什么样子，帮助塑造了地方的国家观念;这削弱了人们对 EPRDF 规则的接受度。这些发现有助于我们理解援助与威权主义之间的关系，并表明需要考虑发展计划的长期物质遗产。