Under Construction: Technologies of Development in Urban Ethiopia. Durham: Duke University Press, 2019. xi + 215 pp. Notes. References. Index. $25.95. Paper. ISBN: 97814780-06411

Discussing Ethiopia and a handful of other African countries, the Economist in its December 3, 2011, edition published a cover story titled “Africa Rising,” which offered the hope that after decades of slow economic growth, African countries finally had a real chance at rapid economic progress. The Ethiopian government, rather than standing aside to make way for private enterprise and market growth, has actively intervened in the economy and in driving development. The protest was triggered by the non-participatory and discriminatory nature of development processes in the country (in particular, the uncontrolled expansion which took place in the city of Addis Ababa and the expropriation of land from Oromo farmers.) From this angle, construction doesn’t seem to be a robust enough concept to contribute to a discussion of the realities on the ground, particularly the post-2018 period.