In many African countries, including Ethiopia, decades of ruthless dictatorships and civil war, were followed by an almost universal demand for democracy combined with a seemingly willing leadership. However, two decades since this significant upsurge to adopt democratic governance, many are left wondering about the depth of commitment to this effort and the sincerity of political leaders. In fact, many dictators and autocrats have adopted the language of democracy and some of its formal elements. Academics, donor countries, and international organizations are struggling to identify an appropriate model of governance. The theory of semi-authoritarianism strives to address this issue of ambiguity by placing the responsibility for democratization, or the lack thereof, with the political leadership. The argument here is that many countries seemingly in transition are not. Rather, they are semi-authoritarian by design as the political elite has a vested interest in preventing democratic consolidation. The theory of semi-authoritarianism attempts to explain the continuation of false democracies. However, the theory is too broad and superficial, it raises just as many questions as it attempts to address. The attempt to classify and explain emerging political trends in countries such as Ethiopia without an appreciation of deeper forces beyond elite manipulation can jeopardize a realistic appraisal of the fate of democracy.

In many African countries, including Ethiopia, decades of ruthless dictatorships and civil war, were followed by an almost universal demand for democracy combined with a seemingly willing leadership. However, two decades since this significant upsurge to adopt democratic governance, many are left wondering about the depth of commitment to this effort and the sincerity of political leaders. In fact, many dictators and autocrats have adopted the language of democracy and some of its formal elements. Academics, donor countries, and international organizations are struggling to identify an appropriate model of governance. The theory of semi-authoritarianism strives to address this issue of ambiguity by placing the responsibility for democratization, or the lack thereof, with the political leadership. The argument here is that many countries seemingly in transition are not. Rather, they are semi-authoritarian by design as the political elite has a vested interest in preventing democratic consolidation. The theory of semi-authoritarianism attempts to explain the continuation of false democracies. However, the theory is too broad and superficial, it raises just as many questions as it attempts to address. The attempt to classify and explain emerging political trends in countries such as Ethiopia without an appreciation of deeper forces beyond elite manipulation can jeopardize a realistic appraisal of the fate of democracy.

The present study used a mixed-experimental analog design to examine 858 undergraduate students' reactions to a scenario depicting a store clerk being mildly rude to a customer. The ethnicity of the clerk and customer were manipulated. Results indicated that participants' beliefs regarding the general prevalence of racism and the degree to which they identify with their respective ethnic group significantly predicted the extent to which they perceived the clerk's behavior as being racially motivated. It also was found that participants' beliefs regarding the general prevalence of racism, levels of cynicism, and attributional style significantly predicted the extent to which they perceived the clerk's behavior as unjust. Moreover, participants' beliefs regarding the general prevalence of racism, levels of cynicism, self-esteem, and symptoms of depression significantly predicted the extent to which they considered the clerk's behavior as a common occurrence. Finally, participants judged the clerk's behavior to be significantly more racially motivated when the clerk was White and the customer was Hispanic or African American than when the clerk was Hispanic or African American and the customer was White. This last finding was robust for White, Latino and African American participants. Implications of the findings are discussed.

The aim of the thesis is a view of the way of teaching racial and national issues in Geography lessons at primary schools. The first part of the work is focused on the way how this topic is presented and taught at primary schools in different regions of the Czech Republic. The other part is based on a didactical analysis of particular books and worksheets for Geography available on the market. The thesis contains as well an originally designed teaching material explaining the topic of racial and national issues.