Policy field and donor game: Education reform in Ethiopia, 1970s-2020s

This paper examines the involvement of donors in the educational policy space of aid-recipient countries, using Ethiopia as a case study. Drawing on an analysis of one reform episode from each of the four successive Ethiopian governments over the past 50 years, the paper traces the timing and shifting alignments of donor influence across different political regimes. The findings showed that political and sectoral crises often served as entry points for donors to assert influence, and that the types of donors involved shifted with the ideological orientations of successive governments. In light of these insights, the paper reflects on three salient features of donor engagement: donors seize moments of uncertainty as strategic opportunities to advance their policy agendas, donors leverage technical instruments and analytical tools to subtly steer policy directions, and the subtlety of these instruments often leads recipient governments to misrecognise imposition and overlook negative impacts, revealing how symbolic violence operates in the policy fields of aid-recipient countries. The paper concludes by calling for more inclusive policy dialogue and the strengthening of national knowledge institutions that can contribute to education policy processes. • Ethiopian education remains heavily dependent on development aid. • Donors exploit moments of political and sectoral uncertainty to advance agendas. • Donor alignment shifts with the ideological orientation of successive governments. • Technical and analytical instruments subtly shape policy, often unrecognized by recipients. • Strengthening national knowledge institutions and inclusive dialogue can counter donor dominance in the national policy field.