Who holds the pen? How international forest and landscape restoration regimes shape Ethiopia's domestic policy

Globally, Forest and Landscape Restoration (FLR) focuses on restoring degraded lands and improving the resilience of communities. This study examines how FLR policies are translated from the global level into Ethiopia's national policy processes. Guided by Cashore and Bernstein's four pathways of influence, the analysis combines 27 interviews, a structured survey with 132 respondents, and a systematic review of policy documents and project reports. Results show that Ethiopia's FLR governance has been shaped through differentiated yet interacting pathways of influence. The most dominant is the direct access pathway, driven by the active involvement of international NGOs and donors. This is followed by the international rules pathway linked to the UN climate and desertification conventions. By contrast, market-based and normative frameworks have exerted little influence. By unpacking how global policy frameworks affect domestic policymaking, this study deepens our understanding of how global restoration agendas are translated in the Global South.