This book offers the first in-depth, side-by-side analysis of two of the world’s most complex ethnofederal systems. Despite the growing body of research on federal systems, the federal experiences of Ethiopia and Russia remain largely inaccessible to the global academic community in a comprehensive, comparative format.

This book brings together an international and interdisciplinary team of scholars with deep expertise in the legal, political, historical, and socio-economic dimensions of both federations. Through various case studies, this book explores how imperial legacies shape contemporary federal structures, how ethnofederalism functions in practice, and what lessons these systems offer for other multiethnic states grappling with diversity and decentralization.

Designed for scholars, students, and policymakers alike, this book contributes to the growing body of knowledge on constitutional and federal systems in the non-Western world and offers a practical guide for institutional learning between federations. It also contributes to the broader discourse on non-Western models of governance, challenging Eurocentric paradigms and highlighting Africa’s vital role in the evolution of federal theory.