This study examines whether or not the political and policy practices in the Tigray NationalrnRegional State essentially reflect the basic attributes of the democratic developmental state.rnField data were gathered through key-informant interview and focus group discussion. As thernfindings of the study reveal that there are signs of good achievements in economic growth andrnstrengths in terms of state autonomy, political commitment of the leadership, and ideationalrncapacity, which enables the government penetrate deep into society to exercise political andrnpolicy control. However, there are limitations in achieving structural transformation of therneconomy, building capacity for effective policy implementation, and genuine commitment of therngovernment to strengthening democratic institutions, which are vital for representation andrnempowerment of the people to effectively involve in the process of planning and implementingrndevelopment activities, as well as, ensuring accountability of the government. Low level ofrnagricultural transformation, backward institutions of support-provision and developmentrninfrastructures, lack of strong public-private cooperation and the subsequent limited capacity ofrnthe private business to invest in the manufacturing subsector, and absence of adequately trainedrnhuman power are the main factors limiting structural transformation in the economy. The lowrnlevel of effective policy implementation, in this regard, is largely associated with the deficiencyrnof the civil service system, which is expressed in terms of poor organization and lack ofrnimplementing the reform-based capacity building programs, and inadequacy of strictly followingrnthe merit principles (due to politicization) in the process of selection, recruitment, and placementrnof civil servants. Democracy, which empowers the people to engage in policy and developmentrnprocesses, is difficult to achieve in Tigray because the regionâ€™s government is not amenable tornmultiparty politics, and the participatory institutions both at the regional and local levels arernnominal and more essentially loyal to the ruling party than the people whom theyrnconstitutionally represent. These findings suggest that if the current practices continue in thisrnway, the aspiration of achieving the ideals of democratic developmental state in Tigray wouldrnlargely remain rhetoric. The findings of the study also imply the need for effective institutionalrnframeworks to build robust support provision structures, productive public-private cooperation,rnand depoliticized or merit-based civil service system with the requisite capacity for effectivernpolicy implementation. Moreover, as the findings of the study suggest that there is a need forrnstrengthening the institutions of democracy in order to enhance multiparty politics and allow thernpeople to broadly engage in the process of policy decisions, implementation of developmentrnactivities, and ensuring government accountability.